


Fated Strings and Charming Things

by Bleach_ed_Na_tsu



Series: Strings! Universe [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-24
Updated: 2013-05-24
Packaged: 2017-12-12 20:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 61,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/815718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bleach_ed_Na_tsu/pseuds/Bleach_ed_Na_tsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsuna may have not been a great believer in fate and strings, but it was hard to deny tangible proof of some kind of fate and connection when it was staring him in the face. Tsuna had heard many times over about the red fate strings, and since he was young could see and somewhat manipulate this, but Tsuna had never heard of the other colours. Au-ish. No pairings</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What he sees

Here’s a little opening to a new story I created, it will be a drabble-like series a total of maybe ten chapters, no longer, and probably no shorter... It’s semi-AU so there might be very brief, subtle mentions of Mafia in the end if not somewhere in the middle, I haven’t really thought about it.  
I hope you enjoy it despite my spelling, grammar, and tense errors.

According to a certain faiths and beliefs there is a red string tied to your body, this string is there from when you are born, it will follow you until you die and is never to be removed. This red string is incredibly strong, I will stretch and knot and tie with other strings, will snag and wrap and twist with other people, but no matter how tangled or knotted it becomes it will never break; over the years of your life it may fray and it may look like a snap is inevitable, but rest assured, this red string of fate will never break.  
Now, this string is said to connect you to people, so you could have more than one string connected to you at any one time, it isn’t really certain to whom it connects you, only that the one it connects you to is someone you are fated to meet, they may be your soul mate, a friend, a protector, but in the end this string of fate will lead you to them, and inevitably you will be changed by that meeting in some way.  
Some say this red string will connect everyone you have a significant impact upon; that could be a stranger in the street, someone you would never look twice at on a normal day or any day after this fated meeting that the red string dictated, or this string of fate may have only meant that you were to help them on a miserable day that may have been their last, or that they heard a comment that changed and broadened their view, but it could mean you saved their life more literally, or changed it in the same way. This string of fate, the red line that writes your past, present and future, could tie you to a friend who has been by your side throughout your entire life since childhood, and whose life is fuller and livelier than if this string were not tying you together indefinitely.  
In the end this string of fate is something you cannot see but can have faith and trust in to pull you towards where you are meant to be; a faith in destiny and fate and in meetings and possibilities.  
Sawada Tsunayoshi never really believed in fate or destiny, he was of the opinion that his actions and decisions were his own, and that whatever he decided to say or how he decided to act were the reasons for his failures or successes. He wasn’t an incredibly intelligent young man, but certainly was not stupid either, at seventeen he was with average grades- though could do better with little effort- and a fairly charming personality, somewhat solitude in his choice of a social-life and was happy that way, because in the end it was his decision.  
While he had lived on his own for the past year and a half, he visited his mother and his adopted siblings as often as school and work would allow, usually on the weekends when he needed a hot meal and the affections his siblings bestowed upon him with gusto, because in the end they loved their big brother Tsuna more than anyone else- through they wouldn’t admit they loved him more than their Mama.  
Tsuna smiled as he walked down the busy, crowded streets of Namimori towards his mothers humble, three bedrooms home. As he walked down the streets, faint lines caught his eyes. Red lines, thick and noticeable where they touched the skin or clothing of the people to which they were attached, before slowly fading out as they reached further into the air. Tsuna smiled softly, he did enjoy wondering where it was those strings were leading. Did they reach overseas? What fate did they dictate? How long would it be until those strings met again, or met for the first time?  
Tsuna walked through the streets, passing people and their strings as he strode down the streets, he smirked to himself, allowing one red string- attached to a young girl he observed- to wrap around his hand for a moment, the string glowed brightly for a moment, and Tsuna followed the rushing glow as it raced toward another young girl chasing the owner of the string. Tsuna loved watching the relations and fate when the strings glowed.  
Smiling and releasing the string, Tsuna arrived at his home, happy to be back in the comforting place where his fate was decided. He opened the door and called a greeting into the warm house, smiling as he watched four red strings move with the change in pressure caused by the open door and his entrance.  
Tsuna was greeted by three tumbling, soft bodies colliding with his waist and chest. Smiling and stooping down Tsuna ruffles each head in greeting before placing a kiss upon each of the three foreheads.  
Tsuna’s siblings loved him more than anyone, and Tsuna returned the love with enthusiasm. He smirked internally when the children started chatting, as they did their love was made evident in their words and the way the thick red strings wrapped around their torsos glowed and light raced towards the thick red strings wrapped around Tsuna’s own waist.  
“Tsuna-nii!” three calls greeted, and Tsuna couldn’t help but smile as the love washed over him.  
“Fuuta, I-pin, Lambo, it’s good to see your doing well. I hope you’ve been behaving for mama.” He smiled and led the way into the humble kitchen where he could smell his mother baking cinnamon buns- Tsuna’s favourite breakfast.  
“Ora. Of course Lambo-Sama has been good for mama Tsuna-nii!” I-pin nodded, obviously agreeing with the loudmouth boy.  
Lambo was Tsuna’s eight year old adopted brother; he was short, sturdy, but surprisingly delicate when it came to his emotional well being. Since he arrived in Tsuna’s life he’s been dependant, and the most possessive of the siblings. His hair was poufy and curled, black as ebony and soft as satin threads. His eyes were the colour of seaweed, green, but with that tinge of brown, they tended to be watery, spurred to tears by Lambo’s constant emotional imbalance, but were always filled with a spark of arrogance- and when directed at Tsuna; love.  
I-pin was Lambo’s twin sister, they were fraternal twins obvious, born to a teenage mother who could not handle them, I-pin was a tomboyish girl with a long braded mane of black hair. She often dressed in Chinese influenced clothing- brought on by their mom’s insistence in exploring I-pin and Lambo’s heritage (which was Italian-Chinese)- but was more inclined to wear girlish, western clothing when Tsuna was around because she wanted to show she was growing up. Her eyes were a deep brown, and sparkled with a maturity Tsuna thinks stemmed from being one of two females in a house of boys.  
“Yeah, Tsuna-nii, you’re the one who hadn’t been a good boy!” Fuuta elaborated as he clung to Tsuna’s chest.  
Fuuta was Tsuna’s eldest younger sibling, he was possessive and shy, but protective of the younger siblings despite the initial jealousy he felt directed at them. His hair was cut short, kissing the nape of his neck and the longest strand just brushing his eyebrows, it wasn’t quite blonde, but neither was it brown, it was also a little more straw-like than Lambo’s or I–pin’s, but that was most likely due to Fuuta being almost thirteen. His eyes were the warmest brown Tsuna has ever witnessed, rivaling even his and his mother’s own chocolaty hues, there was an intelligence in his eyes, and Tsuna felt himself swell with pride, because Fuuta was a genius and loved to learn. He didn’t enjoy school, or at least didn’t like his teachers, and learned much like Tsuna did at his age; Fuuta learned through his own research.  
“How have I been a bad boy?” Tsuna asked as he took a seat at the dining room table, he was pleased to see the red strings around him and the three children brighten from their already dark crimson, because it could only mean good things in the end.  
You see, Tsuna may not have been a great believer in fate, but he could certainly see the strings that dictated it. He was young when he first discovered the ability, in fact the first true time Tsuna paid attention to the strings was when Fuuta, Lambo, and I-pin came into his life.  
Tsuna was six when Fuuta entered his life; he was a bouncing baby boy that Tsuna’s mother had adopted when she had heard he had been abandoned on the steps of the local orphanage when he was less than a year old. Of course Tsuna’s initial jealousy wore off when he realised how alone the baby was, and immediately some kind of protective instinct surfaced in him and had only gotten more ferocious over the years.  
Nana of course couldn’t have been happier that Tsuna had accepted Fuuta, especially when he was so shy and unsocial outside the house, she encouraged Tsuna to play and teach Fuuta and that only increased that instinctive protection within Tsuna. The shy, loveably boy soon flourished under Tsuna’s love and protection, he followed Tsuna closely, rarely straying from Tsuna’s side as he grew, and eventually they became inseparable.  
When Fuuta was two and Tsuna was seven he noticed something. Tsuna had been vaguely aware of these weird lined on his mother, and the strangers on the street, but had often put it to his imagination simply because his mother- and those strangers- never seemed bothered by the strings. But when he was seven he noticed that the string on Fuuta, the one that he sometimes caught leading to his waist, was thicker. He didn’t have to squint anymore to see it connecting him, and he didn’t need to be in a darker place to see the brilliant crimson hue the string held. Tsuna questioned why it was so suddenly that the string changed, but when he grabbed it to explore it Fuuta suddenly swung around a smiled, warmth flooded the red string and Tsuna had to fight the urge to tug the string, because if Fuuta swung around when he touched it, he didn’t know what would happen if he tugged it.  
From then on Tsuna noticed some things about the strings. He started paying attention to who was connected to whom, and started playing with the strings out of curiosity and desire for the knowledge they promised.  
He learned that the darkness of the red dictated how closely bonded the two connected were. Later he would rephrase ‘connected’ to something like ‘fate’ but when he was seven he was unaware of the myth of the fate strings.  
He also learned that he could not follow the strings very far, unless two people who were connected were close- on average about two meters as far as he could tell- the strings would fade into the air until they became invisible. While this made Tsuna pout at the time, he wasn’t really bothered until later in his life when Lambo and I-pin entered his and Fuuta’s life.  
His mother arrived home with two babies, Fuuta was four at the time and Tsuna was almost ten. Tsuna still didn’t understand where his mother got her compassion, but he loved her for it because it made her an amazing person whom all the children could look up to without fear of being lead astray.  
Almost immediately Fuuta didn’t like the babies, Tsuna was sure that was because their mother took Tsuna’s ‘Fuuta-time’ away so Tsuna could help look after them, but Tsuna noticed something strange. The babies already had thick red strings wrapped around their waists and they were already connected to Tsuna and Fuuta.  
This was very strange to Tsuna. As far as Tsuna was concerned, the strings meant ‘bond’ because Fuuta and him had a thick red rope connecting them, and Tsuna and Fuuta had a string connected to their mother. However, when Fuuta arrived he only had one string, and that was dull and attached to his wrist- it was still there now that he was almost thirteen, but wasn’t very red any more. So when the babies had such a red string attached to their torsos- something Tsuna learned meant something important- and it was already attached to Fuuta and Tsuna, well Tsuna got curious.  
From there on Tsuna started to research the strings, he was intelligent, maybe not in school but in personal life, he thirst for knowledge and when a problem presented itself he took it upon himself to research and learn about the problem.  
As Tsuna’s understanding of the strings deepened, so did his curiosity and bond with the three children who were suddenly thrust into his life. By the time Tsuna turned fourteen, with Fuuta being nine and Lambo and I-pin being five, the four of them were inseparable and their red strings glowed strongly. Tsuna could be happy in saying that the strings crossed each other and made an intricate pattern of a square filled with triangles as the strings crossed and connected each of them to each other in a way only Tsuna may be able to physically see, but that all four of them could physically feel.  
“Because you’re late!” the three children shook Tsuna from his musing as they glared at him. Tsuna laughed, knowing that the cute, round pouts on the children’s faces were meant to be angrier than they looked. He ruffled their hair and smiled again as his mother placed food in front of him.  
He greeted his mother softly, kissing her cheek as she placed the plates on the table, he was happy to notice that there were another number of red strings coming off his mother, while none were as intimately placed as the ones connected to her four children, and while that saddened him he knew his mother was happy, but they did fall ever increasingly off her arms and legs, one was tied to her neck, and another around her upper thigh.  
Tsuna had also learned that any strings attached to the torso, were special and said a lot about the fate the people connected had with each other. He guessed- adding to his own ever increasing theory- that it was because the torso was so central to a person, whereas the limbs-while important- could be lived without. Where in the torso the strings were didn’t matter, because Tsuna knew he could not be connected any closer to his siblings than being blood, yet they were wrapped around his waist, and not to his chest. What did matter to Tsuna was the shade of the string, the thickness, and how frayed the string was along its length.  
“Oh? I’m late am I?” he answered the children again as he took a large bite of the hot cinnamon bun covered in thick, white icing.  
“Yeah!” Fuuta elaborated elegantly, icing coating his face despite him turning thirteen within the year.  
“Yeah Tsuna-nii, you were suppose to arrive earlier this week, because you told Lambo-sama that you had a few extra days off!” Lambo explained as his mother wiped icing from his nose.  
Tsuna turned to gaze at the slightly betrayed look in Lambo’s eyes. It hurt to see that, and a short, sudden flash of pain tightened across his chest. His eyes flickered quickly to Lambo’s chest, and followed the long, thick, shocking green string that connected Lambo and Tsuna in a way Tsuna still didn’t truly understand.  
Tsuna noticed the string when Lambo was one. While he had noticed something many times before the afro-haired child’s first birthday, just like the strings before Fuuta’s arrival Tsuna’s childish mind had put it down to imagination (imagine that, after seeing so many other impossible, real things Tsuna actually still believed that the strings were imagination) but when Lambo turned one a green string appeared bright, warm and tightly wound around Tsuna’s chest.  
It was sudden, but at the same time not. Tsuna had always felt something heavy on his chest, and he always put it down to his skin being too tight- because that’s what it felt like- but when Lambo looked at him, love evident in his eyes, that weight doubled, and Tsuna remembered way back to the time when Lambo and I-pin arrived, when he caught sight of the green string leading from his chest to Lambo’s. Since then the string had tightened and thickened, and Tsuna felt so much closer to Lambo because of it.  
“You’re getting more like Otou-san Tsuna-nii!” again, Tsuna was ripped from his muse, because while the other children had sounded chastising, I-pin sounded more distressed, and Tsuna immediately felt guilty about arriving two days later than he promised he would.  
“Now now, Tsuna’s here now, so you don’t need to be upset with him! Besides, you know Otou-san can’t help not being at home all the time. He’s working really hard all over the world! In fact, he said he’d be able to get back for Tsuna’s birthday at the end of the week.”  
Tsuna visibly stiffened at the statement. While he didn’t hate his father, he didn’t really respect him either. Tsuna’s childhood had very little to offer with regards to his father, be that memory or image, and he knew that his siblings had even less. Tsuna was old enough now to understand that his father needed to work to feed and provide for them, but when he was younger he didn’t, and he knew that his siblings didn’t understand now in the same way that Tsuna didn’t at their age; especially now with Tsuna gone all the time. And that made Tsuna increasingly guilty and was what drove him to come home so often and live only an hour or so away from his close-knit family.  
Tsuna had taken almost two weeks off from work and school for his birthday- only because he wanted to spend it with his family- and while his mother assured them that his father had promised to be there, he doubted his father would be home- any time soon- though the thought didn’t really upset him as it should. His father worked away, so much so that the red string tied to Tsuna’s right wrist was dull and bleak, and it showed while Tsuna’s entire life was connected to the man, he had very little to do with him. You see, Tsuna realised soon after understanding his ability, that blood families were connected in a triangle by the dominant wrist no matter how much or how little the parents or children had to do with each other’s lives. The children are connected to their birth parents, and these parents are connected also, then each sibling –by blood- was also connected. So Tsuna wasn’t worried when, over time, the red string he knew was attached to his father started to dull and fade, it was because his father had very little- if any- influence on his life, or as Tsuna later thought about it, his father had very little to do with Tsuna’s fate. Tsuna was strangely fine with that.  
“I’m sorry, but don’t worry, I’ve take two weeks off to spend with you! So you need to think of some things for us to do together alright?” when his siblings visibly brightened, Tsuna felt better about digging into his food and listening to the excited babble as the children told and retold Tsuna everything about their day, week, and month.  
They started telling him things that happened two months ago, each of them interrupting each other to add their own opinion or experience, and while Tsuna knew everything they were telling him well- because he heard about them every time he visited- he knew he couldn’t make himself feel less annoyed because he thrived on such moments in his life, especially when the strings around his torso tightened comfortably as his siblings smiled. While some siblings Tsuna’s age would yell at their siblings and tell them to ‘shut up, I know already’ because they had spoken on the phone only a few nights before, Tsuna could only smile, laugh, and feel unconditional love and connection with the siblings arguing for his attention.  
After dinner Tsuna’s mother said she had to meet a friend and left Tsuna and the children to sit comfortably in the living room, all four of them piled into the three-seated couch, each of the younger having to be either sitting on, or touching Tsuna in some way, if nothing else than to be assured that he was still there and loved them.  
Tsuna started absentmindedly messing with the strings around his siblings, letting the strings twist and wrap around his palm and fingers, he let love and unconditional protection pour into the strings, and was delighted when he felt his siblings relax and calm under the pressure. When he found a slight tear, or the beginning of a fray, Tsuna would pat it down and smooth his thin fingers over it, eliciting a contented sigh from the owner of the string, and balancing Tsuna in the process. Tsuna often hoped that by doing such a mundane action that he was maybe soothing a worry, or ridding his siblings of a nightmare as anyone would hope when they were as close to his siblings as Tsuna was to his.  
Tsuna tugged a little too forcefully on Fuuta’s fate string, and cursing under his breath as Fuuta shifted in his sleep, he couldn’t fight the soft smile on his lips when tired words greeted his ears.  
“Did you want something Tsuna-nii?”  
“No, go back to sleep, you need all your energy if we’re going to do all the things you wanted to do in the next two weeks.” Tsuna’s soft whispers were greeted with a soft, tired smile and finally long, even breathing.  
As Tsuna tucked the children into bed, his last story weaving happy dreams in their slumber, Tsuna noticed something that left a contented smile upon his lips. The red strings connecting the children were changing. Yes they were still as crimson as the blood coursing though his system, but there was something new about it, a spider-like thread was beginning to creep along the lengths of the strings in a hue of brilliant orange reminiscent of the setting sun on a summers evening.  
Tsuna may have not been a great believer in fate and strings, but it was hard to deny tangible proof of some kind of fate and connection when it was staring him in the face.  
Tsuna had heard many times over about the red string, and since he was young could see and somewhat manipulate this, but Tsuna had never heard of the other colours.  
As Tsuna stared into the mirror in his bathroom, stripped to his blue boxers as his toned, lithe body tensed and moved as he breathed, his brown eyes drifted over his planar chest.  
Wrapped around his chest were seven strings. Each one was a different colour, wrapped tightly enough at least thrice to be noticeable, but loose enough to be like a comforting embrace so that he always knew they were there, and he knew that on the end of them someone was waiting to meet him.  
One string was Red, a red deep and warm, while to anyone else- if shown the strings- it was the same as another fate string, to Tsuna there couldn’t be more difference between them. Tsuna had years of experience reading the strings after all, and he could see the subtle, but warm silver threads within the string, giving it a mystical, eerie glow. When Tsuna touched the red string wrapped around his chest he felt a heaviness that was both suppressing and supportive, and knew instinctively this person was protective and also untrusting.  
Another string was blue, deep and warm, like the ocean, it had various different colours woven throughout, greys embedded in the string, like storm clouds ready to drop rain. When his fingers brushed the blue he was filled with a sense of calm and tranquility, he felt suppressed emotions, and knew this person felt very restricted, masked constantly and waiting for release.  
A yellow string stood bright against the other- somewhat darker –coloured strings, the bright colour exuded warmth, when Tsuna’s fingers brushed against the chord he was always overwhelmed with a cleansing, as if healed internally. The warmth from the string always comforted him when he was scared or lonely; Tsuna knew this person was an older brother.  
Indigo was the next string, and Tsuna couldn’t really describe what he saw in it, there were two distinct colours making up the string, one was lighter in colour, soft and feminine, and the other was darker, cruller and had blacks and blue woven within. When his hands brushed this string, and they often did, he felt contradicting yet matching warmth. One warmth was protective to the point of cruelty, never failing to pull a shiver of apprehension from Tsuna, and he knew this person would get what he wanted and fight to his death to keep it safe. The second warmth was soft, kind and shielded, as if this someone had the greatest capacity to love and cherish, but had not been given the opportunity. The Indigo string always caused great curiosity within Tsuna, because he just couldn’t pinpoint how two people could be so closely bonded that they shared one string. Because it meant they shared one fate, and that just didn’t bode well in Tsuna’s mind- for either of the string’s owners.  
Another string was purple, and while people would call him crazy, it was a totally different colour to the indigo, it was darker in colour, less blue and more black, but within the string- the tightest one of the bunch that sat further down Tsuna’s chest- there were white threads and sometimes- though Tsuna thought himself insane for thinking so- sometimes he thought the white threads moved. Aggression flowed from the string, and an untrusting that Tsuna couldn’t help but be saddened by, because the string was tight to his chest, as if simply wanting to be close to someone else despite the intimidation the string gave off, Tsuna knew instinctively this person would never truly harm anyone who he held dear.  
The final string didn’t really have a colour, it was not yellow or orange, not blue or white or black or green, it shifted in colour, and Tsuna started to learn that its owner was not as he appeared. The string’s colour were most likely representing his emotion, and his emotions –or how they were read- obviously played a major part in his fate, or else his string would not change so. Tsuna was most curious about this string, because he had never seen emotions play such a heavy influence on one’s fate as this string had. He needed to meet this person, if for no other reason than to be a friend to them and show them that it wasn’t all on their shoulders.  
Tsuna had learned over the years, through experience and mistake that the thicker and darker the string the more heavily intertwined your fate was with the person at the end of the string. Normal red strings that were connected to people who met in passing tended to wrap around a limb once and then travel again, the lines tended to be a light red, not pink, but not crimson either and they tended to be barely noticeable, Tsuna tended to forget they ever existed.  
These strings tied around his torso were different though, because they made themselves known daily, sometimes tightening to a momentary pain, as if signaling the person on the other end was in great emotional strain and their string was being stretched to the point of being frayed.  
Tsuna mutely touched the strings, feeling warm when he did, as if his feelings were travelling down the strings to their owner. Each of the strings, despite being different colours to red also had a thick, orange string twisted around them, this orange string not only wrapped around and protected the individual string but connected all seven strings to each other at Tsuna’s chest; now Tsuna wasn’t sure what it was that told him, but he knew that that orange string was his. Maybe it was the way the green string that touched and embraced Lambo had the same thick, orange string wrapped around him, or the way that Tsuna couldn’t find the knot where the orange string was tied off, all Tsuna knew was that these strings were precious, and that his fate with the owners of this orange coated strings was heavy.  
He smirked then because he didn’t believe in fate, but he was certainly willing to change his mind if it meant he was going to meet more interesting people like Lambo in his future.

So what do you think? I was just curious to see if this kind of story would be popular or interesting. I love writing about controversial topics like fate and God because I love debates, and I try to be as fair and tasteful as I can when writing about them seriously... but I suppose you can tell me if I was or was not eh?  
Thanks for reading.  
Review S’il vous plait   
~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3


	2. Red that isn't Red

Tsuna woke refreshed, he slept well, and there was a kind of constant pressure in his chest. In fact, there was a constant pressure all over his body. Sitting up, Tsuna sighed in soft exasperation. Lying on him, piled on each other and squeezing their –not so small- bodies onto Tsuna’s twin bed. Though, Tsuna couldn’t find it in himself to care, he was warm and loved, he couldn’t argue that he didn’t like it.  
He woke early, usually he slept in until at least nine, and on a lazy day ten, but those were rare days lately because Tsuna was in college, and most of his classes were in the morning and if they weren’t then he was working; when Tsuna looked at the clock he notices that he woke up at ten to six, so sighing and knowing the children won’t wake for a while he takes the opportunity to get some of his class work done before the busy day of child minding and fun.  
He takes his three text books from his bag, and with it pulls out a calculator, a novel, his pencil case, and of course his large notebook. As he stands, tucking the kids into what is the spare bed crammed into Fuuta and Lambo’s room, he walks downstairs – tripping on the last step- and into the living room where he crashes unceremoniously onto the floor and places his books in a pile on the coffee table.  
Tsuna’s biggest subject in school is business studies, while he doesn’t know what brought about this choice, he does enjoy it to an extent. The work is boring, and often time it is repetitive, and usually does not interest him because he has to study other successful businesses, but since he had no idea what to do after his two years are up, he figured knowing how to run a business would be important and useful in the future.  
While Tsuna writes and types on the calculator, trying to make his sleepy brain register a thousand different numbers that have to do with a thousand different formulas his mother walks in. She smiles an encouraging smile that Tsuna reciprocates before she ducks into the kitchen to start whatever it is his mother does during the days.   
Even after all the years Tsuna’s known his mother she amazes him; she’s caring, compassionate, she’s intelligent and also very free spirited. Tsuna couldn’t be prouder of his mother, though he wished he knew more about his own family, as he said, he knew very little about his father, though he does vaguely remember that his father had many, many fate strings, and most of them were attached to his right hand, more specifically his right index finger.  
“Tsu-kun. I don’t think you should be daydreaming while doing your homework.” A soft clink alerts Tsuna that his mother placed a mug of steamy coffee in front of him and he smiles.  
His mother was amazing. “Thanks mom, I was just thinking about dad.”  
Now his mother frowns. He knows very well that his mother knows what his father is up to, and that Tsuna is curious to the point of insanity, but she keeps it hidden, and Tsuna has to respect that. Though, he knows that she is always upset that her four children know so little about their own father, and despite appearances, Tsuna has caught her crying in loneliness when she thought he wasn’t watching.  
The strangest thing though, despite the fact that his father was never home, the fate string attached to Tsuna and his mother, not to mention the faint strings attached to Tsuna’s other siblings were not as dull and thin as the ones attached to Fuuta and Lambo and I-pin from their own biological parents, and that begged the question; what was Iemitsu doing to have such an impact on their fate despite never being home?  
“You know what Iemitsu does is important Tsuna, and as much as I hate that he hasn’t been in your life very much, he is doing his duty as your father. Doing his duty as a father to all of you.” And the conversation ended there, abruptly, and with Nana Sawada smiling and skipping back into the kitchen (which smelt suspiciously like maple syrup and pancakes) and again, Tsuna was left gobsmacked and wondering; what ‘doing his duty as your father’ was exactly.  
Not really feeling up to doing math sums anymore, especially since the coffee had just hit and he realised he had forgotten to carry the two in an early and important calculation, Tsuna pulls out the novel, and the thickest text book, he sits back, a pen in his hand and the book in the other and sets himself comfortably to finish at least the next two chapters before the children awaken. As he reads, Tsuna writes, taking notes on the book that is incredibly vital to his finals next month, he pauses for a moment though, when he comes across a paragraph arguing a point about God and laws and absolutes.  
Tsuna’s second subject is philosophy, and isn’t it just the most ironic thing in the world when he sees fate strings and does not believe in them. He laughed when he first though about taking up the subject, because it was just so... typical. He had very little belief in fate- a rebellious little part of him said he was still in control of his life etc- but maybe that was exactly why he could enjoy philosophy; it wasn’t as if he didn’t understand why people did believe in a higher power and fate, he just couldn’t believe in it himself. So when his Religious studies teacher in high school told him about the course (one that could be taken along side business) well Tsuna couldn’t help but actually stop and think about it.  
He supposed though, after all the research he did on faiths and red strings when he was younger, he was already set to accept and try to understand everything put in front of him- he was a believer in prejudice being unawareness that lead to fear- so he excelled in philosophy and simply accepted the first offer that was put in front of him; and you know what? He couldn’t bring himself to regret it.  
Tsuna was fairly ethical in his nature, he could often find both faults and praise in actions in any situation, and he often played the ‘devil’s advocate’ during class discussions. Tsuna had found he could be rather cold-hearted and rather cynical since just before his teens, he supposed that this darker outlook on life and decision making had come about from his ability to see the fate strings, sometimes it scared him though how blasé he could be about things that any normal person would call taboo; philosophy seemed to help balance that, as well as give him an excuse to look deeper into the mystery of the red strings he was seeing. Sometimes it even game him the opportunity to uncover some information about the rainbow strings while he studies.  
As Tsuna works, his mother cooks, and the smells soon cause the upstairs to rumble with somewhat panicked little feet. Within moments Tsuna is pinned to the floor, his empty coffee mug thrown across the floor, his pen somewhere under the couch, and his notes scattered in the air as large pieces of confetti.  
“Tsuna-Nii!” three very grumpy, nervous children yell as they pin Tsuna’s torso to the floor.  
“Good morning.” Tsuna laughed as the children explained they were angry because Tsuna did not wait for them to wake up.  
Ushering them quickly into the kitchen- where the table was stacked with pancakes, glasses of milk and a new mug of coffee. The children quickly forgot their qualms about Tsuna’s disappearance and devoured much of the food- being sure to leave both Tsuna and Nana a large enough share for them not to be hungry. Tsuna then sent the children upstairs to change into comfortable clothes and shoes, packed a bag of snacks and drinks for the children and himself, and within the hour they were out the door with a ‘See you later’ for Nana and one Tsuna being dragged down the street.  
They arrived at the park quickly, and Tsuna sent the children off to play. He placed his bag down, the one full of food and drinks for the rowdy children, and finally set off to play with them as they swung and climbed and dug and jumped.  
He was chancing after Lambo, the boy having been on the swings and deciding he wanted to try to see-saw, when something caught his eye. The string was floating, just drifting past his nose, and it radiated acceptance and flexibility. It was a child’s string, he could tell that simply from the youth it exuded, and that child-like air of prejudice and discrimination that some children held but didn’t understand.  
Now, as Tsuna’s hand wrapped around a long red string- the distance he could see them getting slowly longer and longer- he mindlessly played with it and watched the emotions and fate shift under his touch. He flicked his wrist, watching mutely and emotionlessly as it fell onto another child. The two children who were now connected- even if only briefly- suddenly spun around and looked at each other. One smiled and the other sneered, and the red string fell away from the second child; they both turned around then and went about their business.  
Tsuna was a fairly ethical person, but that wasn’t to say that he didn’t experiment with the power he was given.  
Tsuna and the kids met up with his mother at that point, while his mother insisted it was a coincidence, Tsuna knew she was lonely, the kids were always near her at home, and when Tsuna visited she was suddenly put as second best, so he smiled, laughed at the coincidence, and invited her to the park so they could have the picnic she so incidentally had packed before she left the house.  
As they sat down to eat- Tsuna trying to wipe rice from lamb’s mouth while his mother wipes peanut butter and jam from I-pin’s- Tsuna listens to his brother Fuuta as he talks about these statistics he’s found. How according to him, Tsuna must rank number 1 for being the best brother, and must rank pretty high for being clumsy; and Tsuna blushed at this because he had fallen face first in the sand when he pushed Lambo and I-pin on the swings earlier.  
They laughed, and Tsuna almost forgot about the fate strings, and the heaviness he had felt that morning, and tried to remember that he had a project due at the end of the two week vacation he was graciously offered.  
As they finished eating the children ran towards the jungle gym with their mother flocking quickly behind, and though they begged Tsuna to help them with the swings and ropes and bridges, he declined politely using the excuse that he had eaten far too much and needed a rest.  
“But Tsuna-nii! You barely ate anything!” Lambo whined.  
“Yeah Tsuna-nii, you yell at us when we don’t eat but you didn’t eat anything.”  
Sighing internally, Tsuna regretted teaching the children to be so conscious about people’s actions, especially the actions of the ones you loved; instead he simply shook his head, said he wasn’t hungry and had eaten loads for breakfast before shooing them to the play ground.  
But this peace of mind didn’t last yet again, another red string appeared, it lead from two girls talking on the picnic bench behind him, from the way they were talking Tsuna knew they must have been the closest of friends, and since one of them was on the verge of tears, Tsuna knew that she must be telling her friend a secret. Tsuna’s gaze rested on the two girls from the corner of his eye, they were so close in their friendship, but he was saddened by the strings that wrapped them; not one was connecting the girls in any way.  
There was nothing more grieving than two friends having no fate together. Tsuna learned that if two friends weren’t connected in some way they would never last, because ‘fate’ would not allow it. It was one of the reasons Tsuna cursed his sight, because he had never found anyone who was connected to him, and every friendship Tsuna had ever made fell apart quickly and irrevocably (and Tsuna laughed psychotically when he thought about it because it wasn’t fair that two people who were inseparable could be torn apart by something so uncontrollable.) because he was so saddened and could not find it in him to try and make a friendship work when he could see no fate strings attached, so Tsuna acted. Taking the red string in his hands and flicking it with an increased vigor, it flickered in the air before twisting around the two girls; and despite his lack of faith, Tsuna prayed it would stay, and when the string caught Tsuna couldn’t have been happier.  
You see, despite him being fairly ethical, Tsuna was not adverse to mixing fate around a little. It’s not as if he could do major damage, a fate string would not settle if there were no chance of interaction. He had witnessed it- like with the children in the sandbox- too many times to count over the years. However, when there was a chance of fate being intertwined- and just not having been strong enough to be seen yet- Tsuna’s actions would stick, and fate’s hand would be pushed just that little bit; and it soothed Tsuna’s soul to know he might have helped two friends stay that way.  
Suddenly, blinding, cutting pain flashed across Tsuna’s chest, so blinding he actually fought to keep the agony off his usually controlled face. His hand gripped the strings around his chest, trying to figure out just exactly what had happened, which string was being pulled and yanked so tightly. Tsuna had felt this pain only once, and a member of his family had been killed soon after.  
You see, a string will never disappear. When a person dies, if those strings are still connected to someone- say the owners were touched by the deceased etc- then the string will simply connect to the grave, trying it off and simply acting like an anchor for fate to work with.  
Standing abruptly, shaking from the pain and worry, Tsuna shot his mother an apologetic glance before darting off. He knows the kids are going to be upset, but he also knows that this is detrimental-to him or the owner of the string digging into his chest he doesn’t know- he needs only that he needs to follow the string now.  
He ran headlong down the street, his dress-shirt flapped against his body and his trousers ripped in the wind, he stopped and an intersection, not knowing where it was he was to go. Panicked, he looked at the string, and the red string- the one that was red but so much more than that- flashed enough for him to see, and he followed the flash, because as it ran it lengthened the sight-range Tsuna had. He followed it for a while, running as fast as he could, trying not to knock people out of the way in his haste but Tsuna had never felt so panicked and downright insane as he did when the string was writhing on his chest. So he could do nothing more than run and run and run until he finally entered some sort of gateway and saw something kneeling a little ways away from him, and his chest was pained just that little more at the sight.  
He found him. Finally. Someone. A connection.  
Tsuna’s heart bled out, a rushing feeling pulsing down the string and deep into his chest when he set eyes on the boy less than two meters away. It was something else, he’d only ever seen the faded, floating end of the string before, floating to nowhere and –or so Tsuna believed- never to be reunited with its fiery owner. But here he was, right before Tsuna, connected to the red string with the silver threads.  
He was kneeling before a grave, hair wild and matted, and voice rough and begging for some kind of salvation. There was the scent of tears in the air, and the emotions dyed the red and silver string a painfully bright colour. The silver writhed, and Tsuna realise that this person too- like the colourless string’s owner- had to conceal their emotions for their safety, and now they were being released quickly, and painfully.  
“No, this can’t be true; the bastard wouldn’t dare!” his voice was rough, painful, and Tsuna wanted it to stop.  
The boy was a site for soar eyes. He was tired, obviously close to Tsuna’s age, and much better looking than Tsuna was. He was tall- Tsuna could tell even in crouching- with wild silver hair that reached the nape of his neck, and long limbs toned with practice. He wore outlandish clothing, westernised and suited to carry many things. There were chains and skulls and leather adorning his hips and wrists, and Tsuna couldn’t help but think he’s suit very few other styles. Though, with such a regal angular face, Tsuna imagined he’d wear a suit well in the future. Those features were recognisable to Tsuna as Italian in heritage, and he only knew that from his trip to Rome last year with Religious studies, and thoughts raced through Tsuna’s mind questioning why an Italian of all people would be crying in a Japanese cemetery.  
“Ah, are you okay?” Tsuna asked, while he was nervous and practically giddy with the feeling of meeting someone whom was so ingrained in his ‘fate’, Tsuna’s voice was even and calm.  
The boy started, furious emerald eyes turning on Tsuna and lashing out with emotion; guilt, accusation, and pain. He stood, hands twitching to his belts only for him to curse and take an aggressive stance that seemed awkward, as if the boy fought but never hand to hand. As Tsuna observed the violent boy, he nodded at his assessment of the boy’s age, definitely the same age as Tsuna.  
“Bastard, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Definitely Italian Tsuna observed as the tonal accent hit him.  
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seem upset.”  
“Che.” The silver haired punk scoffed. “Get away from me freak,”  
The boy stood quickly, turning on his heel and storming off towards the streets. Tsuna’s heart gave a kick as the boy walked outside his sight range, the string fading off into the open air as the boy left the two-meter distance that Tsuna could see within. He didn’t mean to, but his body picked him off the floor, dragging him, begging him to speed up as he chased the silver haired boy who he seemed to be so fated to meet.  
To his immediate horror, the incredibly distraught boy was staring at his feet, preoccupied with his thoughts as he stormed into the street, and into the path of a moving van.  
Pushing himself forward, using strength brought on by desperation and adrenaline, Tsuna tackled the boy by the waist and brought him to the ground a safe distance from the truck. The boy made an uncomfortable chuffing sound as they hit the concrete, but Tsuna could tell he was undamaged.  
When Tsuna looks up, his deep chocolate eyes meeting swirling confused green, a sharp and sudden pain flashes through his chest, settling into a dull but prominent throb that- when his eyes finally break from the breathtaking green and flicker to the strings around his chest and the boy’s- seems to originate from the red-silver string and the thick, pulsing, orange strings that now wrap around it. Tsuna would wonder later when it was the one orange string became two, but by then he’d know the answer was when he saved the boy and solidified their fate, because after all, the silver-red string may have disappeared if their fates changed.  
“W-w-why?.. w-w-who?...” the boy, whose name Tsuna still didn’t know, simply had no idea what was happening, some strange Japanese boy- one with deep expressive eyes and a frame that suggested he would break any moment- had saved him. Now the boy, who Tsuna would later know as Hayato and insist on calling by his first name, was sure that the Japanese were more reserved than to help a complete stranger, and he found himself respecting the brown haired teen more.  
Then an open hand connected rather hardly with his left cheek.  
Shaded eyes greeted him as the curtain of brown hair shielded the brunette’s eyes, his form trembled as his hand lowered and collapsed at his side.  
Hayato was sure that a typical Japanese person would not save a stranger from a truck- and where the hell was that truck anyway?!- And then slap said saved person.  
“What the hell were you thinking? Were you thinking? I don’t think so! You could have been killed!” the boy continued to rant, and Hayato found a smile flitting into his face, because the boy was just so beyond selfless that he didn’t realise he had hurt himself- a scratch marred his pale cheek- in the action of saving someone as impure- unknowingly in Tsuna’s case- as Hayato.  
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’re right.”  
Tsuna stopped then, because the boy’s expression was just so heart-breaking that Tsuna launched himself at the boy, hugging him close and whispering that he’d be there and that ‘you don’t have to be alone anymore’ and there wasn’t really any going back for Tsuna, and unbeknownst to Tsuna, no turning back for Hayato either.

XXXXXXXXX

Tsuna did not ask Hayato to guide him anywhere, but when the stood, assured the surrounding people that they were okay, and started walking away, Hayato had insisted on showing Tsuna something.  
It surprised them when they arrived back in front of the grave they had just run from. It was quite a humble grave, grey-white stone recently cleaned and precious with a woman’s first name carved carefully into the glimmering surface.  
There was no dates on the stone, similarly there was no last name simply the line; the hands that are lost to the angels.  
Tsuna was rather humbled by such a pitiable and simple grave, for it seemed that little care was put into it, what with such a simple line written into it. When Hayato ran his fingers along the line of script, a soft if not agonised smile upon his thin pale lips, Tsuna’s opinion changed and he wished he could have met the woman that seemed to important to the hot-headed Italian boy.  
“This is my mother. I was born as an illegitimate child to my father and this woman. My father is rather important, and he fell in love with her when he heard her play the piano.”  
Tsuna could just about guess the rest, even as Hayato explained it. It angered Tsuna that he was taken from his mother for political reasons, and he was even more angered when Hayato explained the lie told to him for the same political reasoning.  
“My father told me only a year ago where he had her buried. I left that wretched house when I was young to search, and the bastard only told me last year where he buried her.” The boy’s voice broke at the end, anger, grief and relief flooding and overpowering it.  
Tsuna watched, tears burning the back of his eyes, when the most beautiful sight greeted him. Hayato was kneeling before the grave, his right arm resting on his right knee and his left hand running gently over the lettering of the grave stone, but wrapped tightly aground his left hand was thick, beautiful red string. It was tight, he observed, and tied so many times that it was a wonder Hayato couldn’t feel it. It was there though, and Tsuna wanted to cry and wail at how cruel fate was to separate mother and child like it did, but still place so much importance on their bond to their fate.  
The string was weeping though, as it wound around the wrist of the grieving silver-haired boy. The string was shaking, and Tsuna knew that the mother never wanted this to happen to her son, never wanted him to be so separated from her. Tsuna knew that every lesson she ever taught Hayato would be important to him, even if she were dead and gone now.  
He would not stand for anything to happen to this bond. Tsuna took the red string wrapped around Hayato’s wrist, disguising the action as being openly comforting- which in part he was- and threw the string around the grave, it twisted in the air- just meters above the grave- and twirled, when it landed, several wraps more than Tsuna thought it would, it tightened and knotted, and Tsuna knew it would not move now, Hayato would always have the memories and fate would ensure that.  
Maybe it was for naught, after all fate strings never disappear- even in death- but Tsuna wanted to think he had done something right for his new friend.  
Well, Tsuna was an ethical person, but he would gladly meddle with a person’s fate if it meant keeping two people together even in death, and especially if it was for someone like Hayato, who he could see being someone very important to him; someone he hoped someone would help him stay connected to in death.


	3. Blue to cleanse fate

Tsuna wouldn’t say he hated having a new friend, but he wouldn’t say he loved it either. Being a rather lonely person- choosing to either stay indoors on sunny days or away from others on cloudy ones- Tsuna was not used to the attention his new friend gave him. The boy was kind, honest, and somewhat self-conscious. Though, Tsuna suspected this was more from the betrayal of his father, and his family than it was from any other kind of incident in his childhood.  
Hayato was smart, and Tsuna soon found he was studying advanced maths and was also dipping into mechanic and woodwork. He showed Tsuna the various- rather ingenious- mechanisms and inventions he had made and Tsuna was happy to see the boy lighten up when he accepted his ideas of UMA and UFO.  
Tsuna was rather lonely, never really having anyone to care for him or want to be with him, so he was not used to having Hayato be there in the morning when he woke up and want to spend the entire day with him. Wasn’t it just funny though? Tsuna was having a hard time believing it had already been a month.  
Tsuna’s mother had insisted on Tsuna staying for a while longer once Hayato was introduced and he knew he could not refuse. His rented house was not full of furniture or personal effects, and his school was not all that far away- seeing as he couldn’t bring himself to stay very far from his mother and siblings- neither was his work when he thought about it. Tsuna had no real reason other than an urge for privacy and independence to keep the house rented so when his mother insisted, saying that the study was already turned into a guest room and that it was big enough for him, Tsuna smiled at her and phoned his landlord. The man was a kind man, completely understanding of Tsuna’s situation, he promised him that the house would always be available, because there were rarely any permanent residence apart from Tsuna; Tsuna thanked the old man and quickly moved the few things he owned into storage, and moved in with his mother until further notice.  
He was planning on moving back in over the summer anyway, because he just did not like being so far away from the children and his mother; besides, with high school only being another year he suspected he should really start saving his money for university should he decide that was his best option.  
Tsuna woke rather refreshed, and he suspected that was from going to bed earlier than usual at both his mother’s and Hayato’s persistence. Hayato was still snoring on the floor and had kicked the covers off sometime in the night, so he was sprawled rather elegantly across the futon.   
Tsuna had wasted no time in introducing Hayato to his mother, and once she had heard of the truck incident she had invited the boy to dinner and after a thorough talking to about crossing roads and looking where he was going had smiled and welcomed him into the family. Of course this was met with a completely gobsmacked Hayato, a giggling Nana and a very contented Tsuna, because he wanted to ensure this fate and this friendship was a good one, it was his first one, and he knew this boy needed a family.  
Once dinner had finished and Hayato was about to leave Tsuna’s mother told Tsuna to walk him home. Of course Hayato refused ‘I don’t know where I’m staying yet, so Tsuna would only end up wakling aimlessly with me.’ Well of course Tsuna’s mother almost died of shock threw him into the bathroom with a change of clothes telling him sternly to have a bath: ‘Well you’ll just have to stay with us until you go back home.’ And that was that, because no one argues with Tsuna’s mother.   
You know what? Tsuna had noticed something amazing then, when his mother told Hayato his home was now with them. He witnessed a new fate string being born.  
Now, Tsuna had seen many strings in his seventeen years. More than he could ever count or remember; he had never seen one born, and what a sight it was. It was hard for him to describe, even now as he remembered it, though he was sure to never forget it. It was around Hayato’s legs that it appeared, like spider webs branching all over his thighs, and so suddenly with a click and a scent. The fingers were neither thick nor strong looking, but their pattern was ever so protective and humble, so fragile and delicate, Tsuna couldn’t help but be awed, because he knew then that he had missed so much in the past and he was determined to make up for lost time. For it seemed that pattern also played a role at reading string. When Tsuna watched the birth of these spider-strings, he realised a certain scent lingered, one nostalgic in his childhood. The scent was of books once they had been opened new or old and mixed in was a scent entirely his mothers, of cooking and love and warmth. Tsuna knew then that his mother had formed this string and that every time he had smelt such a scent was a new string created around his mother. He couldn’t even count the times he had smelt the scent, only that it surrounded him through every phase of his life. It made him wonder what his scent was, had he smelt it before? Could he smell it given it was his own? What did Lambo, I-pin’s, and Fuuta’s fate string’s smell like? Did the click he heard sound different from different people? What did the sound mean? Did Hayato’s smell of machinery and wood, or of tobacco and fire? It was curious really, and Tsuna wondered if his power over the strings was becoming more powerful as he grew and gained experience, friends, and as they eventually ended up no matter the circumstance, family?  
Looking at the boy’s sleeping face Tsuna couldn’t help but smile and tug the burning red and silver string that connected them. It burned with a fiery passion and a strong protective instinct that he knew was entirely the boy’s nature. Tsuna was still confused as to why Hayato had his emotions tied to his fate, but he was grateful that it was; without the orange-wrapped string he would not be able to read the silvernette as well as he could; the boy was very adept at hiding his emotions and immediate thoughts, even from Tsuna who prided himself in reading people. Tsuna twisted the string tied to his chest and Hayato’s in his hand; he felt a pulse of warmth and knew that he was right in solidifying his fate with him. It was a feeling he wouldn’t soon forget. Though a nagging weight was pressing him down when he watched the other six strings on his chest.  
He got up, thinking he should probably bring his camping bed out from storage for Hayato, and made his way downstairs to help his mother with breakfast before starting his homework and then going out with Hayato.  
He set the coffee up, and put the juice and milk on the table ready for his siblings- who would be waking soon for school- before his mother skipped in and kissed him gently on the cheek. “Morning Tsu-Kun.” He smiled at his mother, pleased to see glimmering red strings floating around her rather aimlessly.  
Feeling a tremor in his gut Tsuna turned to see his three siblings stumbling down the stairs, their hair as a mess and their eyes were half-lidded, but each one of them greeted Tsuna with a hug and I-pin with a kiss on the cheek when he stooped down to hug them back.  
They sat down and began eating and Tsuna poured two mugs of coffee. He learned quickly over the month that Hayato was not a morning person, or a kid person for that matter. It was rather funny to watch Hayato get incredibly protective and annoyed when Lambo clung to Tsuna’s side after introductions, what was increasingly concerning was the confusion in the green eyes of the silver-haired boy when Tsuna interacted and cared for the children, as if Hayato didn’t understand what the emotions Tsuna was displaying were; and that confusion was backed up by the flicker of unease in the string.  
Black whole-roast coffee was Hayato’s favourite; Tsuna suspected that was his Italian heritage and somewhat-upbringing affecting his tastes. Though it didn’t matter much given Tsuna’s own father’s preference for fine coffee, and annoyingly enough Tsuna’s taste for it also.  
It wasn’t long before the two of them were sitting at the small coffee table in the middle of the room, homework pulled out and dragging deeply at the thick black caffeine. Neither of them needed to speak, but Tsuna could see the contended smile on the smoker’s lips-his cigarette handled expertly in his right hand as his left handled the papers and coffee- with a small divot appearing between his eyebrows as he concentrated on the papers under the pen in his left hand.  
Hayato had begun smoking in the backyard, keeping well away from the house and the children, he was careful about where he put the butts out and where the wind was blowing, and Nana realised that he smoked for a true need and comfort, eventually she allowed him to smoke within her home as long as it was in Tsuna and his shared room where there was good air circulation and a fan. Tsuna didn’t really like smoking, but somehow he grew accustomed to the smell of Hayato’s brand of cigarettes, and eventually the smell of his room- diluted by the incense Hayato burned in the corner, and the musk that came from being teenage boys- became something soothing, because it was simply everything Hayato was, and if he smoked and was comforted by it then Tsuna had no right to rid him of that as long as he was safe about it around Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta; all of whom had shown no incline to starting smoking in the future.  
“So Hayato, what are we doing today?” Tsuna was shifting some of his business work to the side to find his maths homework when he heard Hayato put his coffee down and pull another drag from the cigarette.  
“I don’t know. I figure we just go for a walk. I heard from some of the brats from lower down the school when I was in design the other day that there’s this amazing sushi restaurant somewhere near here.” Hayato explained. Hayato spend a large margin of his school time- having transferred to Tsuna’s school soon after arriving in Japan- in either the woodwork department or product and design. Tsuna often sat with him and watched him work, the design teacher happy to have the silvernette boy happy and content rather than moody and aggressive.  
“Ah, Takezushi?” Tsuna questioned looking up into the framed eyes of his friend. He found it entirely amusing when Hayato threw on a pair of glasses and tied his hair up to work; it gave his friend an entirely more mature, more intelligent atmosphere.  
“That’s the one.” Hayato confirmed as he lifted the coffee mug, tipping it he found it was empty and sighed, dragging smoke through his lungs instead.  
“Then we’ll go there this afternoon. I promised the mom I’d do some grocery shopping first, and the kids wanted to get some books from the library. So we’ll go after that.” Tsuna confirmed.   
The children were always reading; especially Fuuta- and strangely enough he was the only one Hayato really go on with, they often talked statistics of engineering or cars.  
Within the hour everyone is out of the house and at the shopping center. Tsuna has the kids behaving with the promise of books for Fuuta, candy for Lambo, and a new set of colouring pencils for I-pin. They walk around the shopping market with a list and quickly get everything they need. Tsuna give each of the kids their promised prises and shoos them into the library with Hayato while he puts the shopping into the car. They exit quickly, Hayato with his nose in a book about some kind of machinery and head home.  
Their mother greets them before ushering the children back into the car after lunch to go clothing shopping. Tsuna asks for some clothing and Nana winks and points to Hayato. Smiling knowingly Tsuna replies his sizes and with a wave from the unknowing Hayato she was gone and Tsuna lead the way to the sushi shop he knew was on the outskirts of the shopping district.  
As they walked Tsuna noticed a the heaviness that had been with him that morning increase, it wasn’t painful or sharp, more of a constant throbbing that was just there. He knew something was going to happen, but had no clue as to what that something was. He ended up ignoring it for the greater part of their walk, until later.  
The sushi restaurant was small and humble, traditional it was furnished with both tables and stools and gave off a homey kind of feeling. In the far back Tsuna spied a living room through a gap in the door and realised that this restaurant was a converted house. Which he expected explained the homey feeling.  
“Good afternoon boys, how can I help you?” an aged man, tall with black hair and laugh lines greeted them from behind the counter. He was wiping his hands down with a towel, on his smock the word ‘Takezushi’ so Tsuna assumed he was the head chef, if not the owner of the establishment; and from the looks of it the only chef.  
“Good afternoon, do you have room for two hungry teenagers?” Hayato asked politely as they stepped into the restaurant.  
Tsuna had also noticed Hayato's politeness when dealing with adults; Tsuna assumed it was from all the time his father showed him off, and probably more than once demanded he respect his elders, though on other occasions Tsuna was sure that Hayato really was just polite, and that he hid behind a bravado to look strong and dangerous.  
With a smile and an exaggerated swipe of the room, one which had a few quiet customers, the man laughed; “Pick any seat you’d like boys, I’ll get to you once I finish this order.”  
Both bowed in thanks and took a seat closest to the window. They talked about a few things, some of school topics, and others of home topics. Tsuna told Hayato he’d go to his storage locker and get the spare bed for him and couldn’t help the laugh when Hayato indigently tried to protest with a mouth full of tea. He laughed until a pulse shot through him, painful and quick, schooling his expression and turning around he spied a boy with a large, happy face serving three young boys about Tsuna’s age and ones he recognised from his school on the other side of the room. The boy looked his age too, tall with a head of thick, black hair. His face folded nicely as he rested one hand at his side holding an empty tray and the other rested on his hip, Tsuna was sure the boy would get laugh lines when he was older; in fact he thought he’s get the same laugh lines as the chef. Perhaps they’re related.  
Tsuna was sure that it was that boy how caused the spike of pain, and as if sensing his questioning gaze the boy turned. His eyes were deep brown, but unlike his face they were not lit up with mirth, but with sadness, deep rooted and painful. He smiled, a warm smile, and Tsuna smiled back, trying to convey some kind of kinship, because that boy was lonely, maybe even lonelier than Tsuna had been before Hayato's sudden arrival.  
Before he could see the boy’s reaction the man from behind the counter appeared to take their orders, and when he left to make them their late lunch the boy was gone, and the pain in his chest a low throb that was quickly outshone by the warmth of Hayato’s string.  
As they finish their lunch, Hayato sneaking the check away from Tsuna and paying it and a gracious tip for such amazing food, they leave with no particular destination in mind, simply allowing their feet to take them where they wanted to go. Soon they arrived at the river that ran adjacent to shopping district, it was getting later in the evening, so many people were walking away from the district and toward Tsuna and Hayato. That’s when Tsuna started to notice the strings flying in the air.  
There were so many patterns. Some strings were braided, tight, small braids floating in the air and seeming so stable that Tsuna was amazed he hadn’t noticed them before. Some were looping around each other, and Tsuna inherently knew the people would meet and change each other where the loop met, and it was a beautiful thought because he was watching fate in motion. There were some strings that seemed to go though each other, and curiosity almost made him grab the string, but he knew better than to meddle with the string when their owners were nowhere to be seen. Then there were the free floating strings that seemed connected to nothing and no one, and those ones were the most curious to Tsuna, because he just wanted to know where it was they were going, who they were connecting, whose fate he would forge or break if he touched and manipulated the strings.  
There was another pulse, and he was not really sure where it was coming from, from time to time Tsuna would feel the strings that surrounded him pulse when something happened to the owner, the stronger the pulse the worse the ‘something’, but usually it just meant that a decision left not up to fate had made fate shift just that little bit. Tsuna's world was often filled with little tumours and rocked on its axis because of these little shifts in fate.  
“Tsuna, do you think it’s time to go home?” Hayato’s voice was smooth and happy, smoke trailed from his right hand as they walked and Tsuna couldn’t help but feel he somewhat suited the look, even as much as he hated that Hayato smoked at all.  
“Yeah, I think mom will have made dinner already.”

XXX

In the morning Tsuna is woken by a flash of pain. He sighs, a heavy and tearful sigh, because he’s had enough. He does not like waking up to such a painful feeling. He does not like feeling useless. He does not like having his chest pulled and having no direction to follow. As he listens to Hayato snoring he wants to cry, because he’s just so useless right then, all he can do is watch the string- the blue one- twist and pull; he can do nothing to help it.  
Tsuna takes a long shower when he realises he won’t be able to sleep, his school was canceled for a few weeks due to renovations and holidays, so he didn’t have to worry about that. As the hot water cascaded down his body he watched the strings, how the water would cling to the string for a moment before reality and gravity took hold again. He was only reminded about how useless and insane it all was.  
Hayato must have sensed something, because when Tsuna went downstairs to make breakfast Hayato had already made him scrambled eggs on toast- about the only edible dish that Hayato was capable of making beside a mean cup of coffee. Smiling and eating Tsuna can’t help but think this stupid sight of his is fine if it means he can meet someone like Hayato and save more people through his manipulations than he is unable to.  
They take the kids for a walk when they wake up. Hayato still didn’t get along with Lambo, blowing up in arguments at any little thing- not that Tsuna minded because it was just so nice to see them fight like they’d always been siblings- Fuuta and I-pin were more reserved walking with one hand in Tsuna’s and the other in their pockets, or in Fuuta’s case holding his newest book.  
They arrived at the park and played for a while, enjoying the morning air, but Tsuna couldn’t shake the eerie feeling he had in his bones that something was going to happen. The pulsing in the blue string continues, and the other strings- apart from the yellow string and the multicoloured translucent string- seemed to be twisting two, as if reacting to the blue string’s torment.  
Soon enough the kids were bored and decided to make their way home.  
Hayato and Tsuna walked around for a while longer. They picked up a coffee and a doughnut at the local coffee house and made their way to the shopping district to look for a gift for Tsuna’s mother, whose birthday was only around the corner.  
That’s when Tsuna noticed the blue string lengthening. That seemed to signify that the owner was near, because Tsuna could always tell where Hayato was, even if he was outside Tsuna’s typical two-meter sight distance.  
There was a pulse again, and this time it ran towards Tsuna. He could see the tension in the string, and knew something bad was going to happen. Something in his gut told him that. There were always strange feelings in his gut when things were going to go bad, and his gut was very rarely wrong.  
The scent was of books once they had been opened new or old filled his nose, mixed in there was a scent Tsuna recognised it as a scent like rain, new rain just fallen on concrete floors, clean fresh and soft, Tsuna was immediately drawn to that scent, something pulling at the string on his chest- as if the scent was resting upon the taut fate. Walking towards it (not suspicious at all when Tsuna was heading in that direction anyway, Hayato fast on his heels) Tsuna was hoping to find the owner, that is until his eyes stopped on the boy from the sushi shop with a distraught expression on his face and his three friends’- the ones he had been with at the sushi shop- retreating backs sniggering.  
To Tsuna’s horror he realised something. That scent, so nostalgic to his childhood was not so pure and good as he thought. Yes every time he smelt books, and when it was mixed with the smell unique to the owner of the string, it was the birth of a new, pure fate string to grown and change, but it was also something entirely vile and heart wrenching. Every time he smelt those scents, Tsuna was witnessing the breaking of fate strings, the unique scent and sight being the one whose fate string was broken, and he knew those were the kinds never to be forged again.  
He felt sick, absolutely gut wrenchingly sick. Something broke in him and his gut churned. He knew that boy would feel it, knew it. Even if he couldn’t see it, that kind of snap, one Tsuna could hear and smell and feel from such a distance, was obviously painful to the boy, because Tsuna knew that fate was painful.   
Turning and running, Tsuna’s stomach becoming too twisted and painful, he found a washroom and emptied his stomach with tears streaming his face. Tsuna hated his gift sometimes, more times than anyone could count. He couldn’t make friends because of it, because he knew too much, he had seen too much, he had wished. Too. Much.   
He saw the fate of friends tested and torn, but he had never seen something so heart wrenching and painful in all his life. He had never been affected so thoroughly by such a sight in all of his life. He was determined to find the boy and fix this, because something was pulling him, making him hurt so much; something was telling him to find that boy and save him.  
Hayato burst in then, having chased Tsuna into the public restroom. His face was shocked when he saw Tsuna leaning on the edge of the toilet, tired and sweaty with tears in his eyes. He knew something was up; that something as different with his boy, but he couldn’t walk away. He couldn’t. Something was wrong the moment he set eyes on the boy. Hayato knew he wasn’t one to make friends, to be trusting, or loyal. His family had taught him better than that. But there was something about Tsuna, maybe about the care he showed or the trust he demanded, but Hayato could not walk away from him, he felt pulled to him, like he needed him.   
Stooping down to sling the brunette’s arm over his shoulder Hayato made his way back to their home. It was strange really that he considered the modest two story house his own home, because he certainly never considered the mansion where his sister and father lived his home.  
They rested in their shared room for a while, Tsuna lying on his bed with a hand over his eyes, Hayato worried of course, because his friend was paler than usual and the hand on his chest kept tightening, as if gripping something with all his might. Of course there was nothing there that Hayato could see, and that worried him even more; he couldn’t help but worry for Tsuna’s heart and chest, because to the normal observer Tsuna was gripping at his chest as if his heart were in a seize.  
Tsuna was seeing something completely different of course. In his hand the blue string writhed, it twisted and whipped around, as if the person that the blue string was attached to was having their fate drastically and very suddenly changed, and the string was being tested and strained as it formed into the new story that would play out in the boy’s life.  
All was well suddenly, the string stopped moving and the pain disappeared, Tsuna was tempted to let out a breath, relieved that the person had obviously made a decision that influenced and silenced fate; that was until something happened that Tsuna neither liked nor had ever seen before.  
In an explosion of movement that was both soft and sudden the blue string unravelled, it splayed out so that every thread was visible to Tsuna, his eyes widened as the cyclone of blue splayed out, and it forced him to move, because this he didn’t like. The other patterns he had seen were tight, braided, looped, knotted, something that looked solid and stable, but this, this new pattern scared him, he had never seen something so fragile and unstable, and it made him stand, stumble downstairs and run towards the blue string. He was not about to let this string disappear. Not if it meant that he was going to lose something that seemed so precious to his life and fate.  
It didn’t take him long to find the direction the blue string was heading, a light rushed the string as he ran, guiding him father than his sight could. The string was going to a deserted part of town, one known for its gang activities, as well as something entirely more saddening.  
Hayato was quick on Tsuna’s heels of course, having never seen his friend so panicked and scared. Hayato was unsure what to make of Tsuna’s actions, what with him acting as if he saw something Hayato could not. Though, Hayato was not one to judge Tsuna, given his own belief in the unbelievable. Though, it did remind him of something his father talked about, a trait in heirs to the bloodline of his father’s partner famiglia.  
Running after Tsuna he is shocked when they arrive on the plot of empty land known simply as ‘the lot’ and he immediately thinks the worst and chases Tsuna faster, pumping his legs and driving himself forward. Hayato almost misses the panic in Tsuna’s eyes when they see another figure standing on the edge of the meadow, where the steep drop into a dumping ground lays. The boy is tall, his form rigid, both hands fisted with small drops- Hayato assumes blood given the paleness of the boy- dripping from them, the boy looks down into the ridge, as if trying to talk himself out of what he’s doing, and obviously not being a great negotiator. It was the boy from the sushi shop that Hayato had noticed Tsuna watching when they had lunch the day before.  
Before he can understand what is happening he witnesses Tsuna dive at the boy just as he makes a move, they fall to the side, Tsuna on top of the boy- precariously close to the edge Hayato witnesses with an utter panic and heart stopping fear- Hayato sees tears in Tsuna’s eyes, and before he can shout or call or even move another step Tsuna’s hand is slapping the tall boy’s face, and the boy seems to wake from his stupor.  
It’s amazing really, Hayato thinks, that Tsuna could be so caring. This boy is a stranger- something Hayato forgot he was only a month ago- yet he panicked, dashed out of his house and saved him. There was something about Tsuna, and Hayato was determined to follow him, if for no other reason than to see what kind of changes Tsuna could bring about in the others he met along the journey of his life.  
Tsuna didn’t even realise what he was doing until the dark, deep, brown eyes of a red-cheeked boy were staring into his own. He calmed immediately, lowering his hand and bowing his head. A rush of air left his lungs before he looked back into the now confused eyes of the tall boy.  
“D-don’t do that again.” Tsuna whispered. He was shaking of course, because that was now two people he had saved who were about to die- by their own hand or some kind of accident didn’t matter at the minute- and they were both people he did not want to live without.  
“What do you mean?” a mask, solid and wary flickered onto the tall boy’s face, the confusion evident in his eyes, even if the hidden hope was not.  
“Don’t ever try to kill yourself again. It’s not worth it, it’s selfish and unnecessary.” Tsuna continues, and when the boy goes to protest, words Tsuna almost instinctively knows he will utter he continues, “I don’t care if your friends abandoned you! I am here! I will be your friend, hell if you want live for me, I’ll be your reason for living! Don’t forget your family, I bet that father of yours would miss you a hell of a lot more than anyone, and he’s worth way more than some useless brats!” Tsuna’s rant left him breathless- god he hoped that man was this tall boy’s father- but Tsuna felt something amazing as the boy’s eyes widened at his words.  
He allowed himself a glance at the splayed blue string of fate, but it wasn’t splayed any longer. The string was in fact attached to Tsuna and this boy- something Tsuna was grateful for or he’d feel a fool and would be embarrassed every time Hayato or this boy asked why he ran out of the house and knew where the boy was- but instead of being splayed and fragile looking, as it was when Tsuna chased it, it was braided, tied and circling a thick, bright orange string that was not there when Tsuna ran from his house. The blue, so deep and beautiful in its colour wrapped itself tightly around Tsuna’s orange, in some placed the blue was the only colour seen, and in others the orange could be seen through the blue, all Tsuna knew as that when his eyes flickered to the boy’s end of the string, an orange thread was wrapped around his chest tightly and securing the blue in place, securing it from fraying or ever splaying out like it had been just minutes ago.  
“Tsuna are you alright?!” Hayato finally made it to Tsuna’s side, and was amazed to see the tall boy currently pinned by Tsuna’s weight about to cry.  
Tsuna had no time to think when long arms wrapped around his torso and a face planted itself in his shoulder, because the tears registered in his mind before the awkward position they were in did. He hugged the boy back, smiling at Hayato who was shocked and awed all at the same time.  
“I’m Tsuna, this is Hayato. I do believe that we’re all friends now.” Tsuna spoke with a smile, and Hayato could only scoff because he could not deny that the sound of having a new friend sounded more amazing than anything else he had heard since being invited into Tsuna’s family.  
“I’m Takeshi. It’s nice to meet you Tsuna, Hayato.”  
“You better repay Tsuna, Takeshi-baka, because your debt to him won’t be fulfilled for at least three lifetimes.”  
Wasn’t it funny? Tsuna was not concentrating on the argument already forming between the two boys. He wasn’t paying attention to the laughter bubbling from behind the tears, or the happiness behind the insults. No, Tsuna was watching with vivid interest as a thin orange string made itself known between the two boys, branching from their chests where their strings met Tsuna's. Tsuna was mesmerised, because the string looked like a chain, and not the typical fate string. Smiling to himself, almost a smirk in its look by the mixture of disbelief, relief, confusion and happiness in the smile, because Tsuna suspected that that orange string was simply another new pattern that he’d have to learn about in the future; a future that was beginning to look a whole lot fuller and brighter.


	4. Fated to be a Brother

Tsuna was amazed at the change in Hayato when yet another person joined them.  
It had taken Tsuna all of two minutes after Takeshi had finished crying to run Takeshi back to his house, throw him in front of his mother and declare their friendship. The black haired boy still had tears in his eyes and was more than shocked at the sudden, whole-hearted declaration. Tsuna’s mother of course was even more accepting, and to Takeshi, the breath of fresh air and motherly love he was lacking since his mother’s death when he was only seven years old.  
Hayato of course was confused, but he almost knew that if Tsuna was inviting this boy into their little group – which had been till that moment exclusively two-, then there was something about the boy that needed them, or maybe it was that they needed the boy?  
So Hayato scowled, acted aggravated, and tried to see just what it was about the boy that his friend thought was special. He was a normal boy, simple minded from what he could tell, but they shared something. They had been betrayed by those they trusted, and that sparked a kind of kinship in Hayato that didn’t make him abuse the boy until he left Tsuna and him alone. Maybe Tsuna wasn’t so wrong by choosing the boy after all.  
They sat in Tsuna’s room, Hayato smoking his cigarette and Tsuna sipping his coffee, and Takeshi couldn’t help but feel at ease. It was during their brief moment of silence- those being so few and far between in the three days since their meeting- that Takeshi got to think about everything that just happened.  
Only two days ago he was standing on the cliff’s edge, toes dangling precariously, mind in limbo as to a decision when Tsuna tackled him to the ground, slapped him and declared his resolve to keep the boy alive. It was something strange, unbelievable, and all together something Takeshi replayed in his mind’s eye day in and day out, because Tsuna in an instant had become almost his entire world.  
He often thought that there was someone looking out for him, when he was sad or indecisive he’d feel a rush of... well of something... and then would cheer up. When Tsuna tackled him to the ground, well he couldn’t tell anyone what kind of feeling it was. Not so much warm, because Tsuna was cold, shivering from his fear and anxiety, and it rained soon after he hit the ground, but it was something else when Tsuna looked at him, worry, pain, and something akin to fear swimming in eyes purer than snow. He didn’t know what it was that made him trust in Tsuna, only that when he thought of rejecting the boy, of getting angry, or laughing and telling him he wasn’t trying to kill himself Takeshi felt guilty and nauseous, as if Tsuna really was his reason to live now; maybe he was, Takeshi was more willing to find out.  
Not only Tsuna though of course, Takeshi also gained a friend in Hayato. The Italian-Japanese was short-tempered, loudmouthed, incredibly attached to Tsuna, and sometimes critical to a point that Takeshi thought his very soul and virtues were on the table for examination. Hayato scared him sometimes, there was that hint of danger and death around the boy, as if he had killed and would kill again, but there was just that, thing, about him that made Takeshi believe that it was Tsuna who was the object of Hayato’s deathly gaze, and that gaze promised protection, friendship and a kind of love of family and friends.  
Nothing Takeshi could have said would describe the two boys, or Tsuna’s siblings who clung to the brunette as if he was the mother, but then again, Takeshi didn’t really need an explanation, because he just felt so warm and right being in the room with them, being in the house at dinner and sleeping over at night. Even Takeshi's father seemed more at ease since Tsuna and Hayato’s arrival in his life, as if his son’s happiness and calm gave him the same satisfied feeling; hell, maybe it did, maybe all Tsuyoshi wanted was for his son to be truly, truly happy.  
It was a similar evening that he left for his home. Usually he would have insisted on staying, or closer to the truth was that he would have caved to Nana’s insistence, but Hayato and Tsuna had an exam in the morning and needed to study for it. Tsuna had a philosophy final and Hayato had a physics paper to sit. While Takeshi had one too it wasn’t until later in the day, and he was already completely ready for his English paper. So he waved goodbye to his friends, Tsuna’s siblings hugged him too, and Tsuna’s mother kissed him quickly on the cheek as he left through the front door. Takeshi had never been happier.  
Tsuna and Hayato bunkered in their room while they studied. Hayato, as studious as he was, actually got some work done, but all Tsuna could do was replay the image of the blue string in his mind, it made him feel sick to think about, because as he thought about it the physical memory made itself known in his chest making him either want to throw up or cry.  
Eventually Tsuna looked at the time and told Hayato to go to bed, Hayato’s exam wasn’t until the afternoon, but the boy was prone to over studying and would study until his exam if Tsuna didn’t encourage him to sleep and convince him that ‘No Hayato, coffee does not make a good substitute for food and sleep.’ So as the silver haired boy went off to his own bed- Tsuna having finally gotten his spare bed from storage- Tsuna changed into his sleepwear and crawled into his own bed.  
Soon enough he was engulfed in dreams. The coherency was a mess, and the words lost to his memory, but what Tsuna was aware of when he awoke from the dream that bordered on nightmare was that the boy in the dream was saddened, and after so many years, Tsuna was sure that sadness had multiplied. There was a tough press on his chest, and looking down Tsuna could see the yellow string dull slightly, as if the person was nearing their limit. The orange string wrapping it was bright, trying to coax the yellow string into life, but there was nothing that could brighten the string, not if Tsuna’s dream was as close to reality as Tsuna thought it was.  
Takeshi arrived early in the morning, just before Tsuna was going to make his way to the school; Hayato was eating happily, getting Tsuna’s brother Fuuta to ask him questions from the textbook when Takeshi walked in. Now, Takeshi was no scientist, he was in the sports team and was lined up to get a rather large scholarship to a prestigious sports school once his high school career was over; nonetheless he took the book from Fuuta and helped the silver haired boy get some last minute studying in. Hayato refused at first, saying that a ‘Yakyuu-baka’ couldn’t help him with physics, or said that until he realised the black haired teen was quite versed in science.  
“I took it earlier this year but decided it wasn’t for me.”  
Hayato was left at a loss for words, spluttering and yelling at Takeshi for not saying so earlier. Tsuna couldn’t help but laugh, because despite their words they looked like they were becoming very close friends.  
Tsuna laughed as he watched them, it wasn’t often he saw Hayato angry- or that’s what Hayato would say he was, when he was actually embarrassed- and it was nice to see.  
He stood then, waved goodbye to Hayato and Takeshi- because his mother basically told Takeshi not to bother knocking and was free to be in their home whenever he wanted.  
Tsuna’s trip to school was slow and peaceful, having almost half an hour until he needed to be at the exam hall meant he was in no rush. Namimori was a wonderful town, and he wondered to himself what it was that made him move to the next town over. He was stupid really, probably feeling that a change of pace would make him forget the pain the strings brought him, and maybe being independent would make him feel something that up until a month ago had been missing. It was a stupid notion really, because Tsuna now knew that the ‘missing’ something was friendship, the type of friends he knew now, both Hayato and Takeshi, were filling that painful void in his chest that needed people to fill; good, honest, wonderful people.  
Soon he arrived at the school, Namimori high school was like any other, it was large, open, and had a staff dedicated to teaching their students. What was different about Namimori high was that the disciplinary committee was top of the range; the police were looking into it as a kind of recruitment facility. Of course, Namimori high also was known for their sports facilities, many students were recruited to sports teams ranging from Kendo to baseball and boxing.  
Tsuna paced lightly around the perimeter wall of the school, just watching as various other schoolmates of his make their way to their own exams. Absentmindedly Tsuna notices something, the fresh scent of books and something else. The first thing to set in is panic, because Tsuna cannot discern a birth or breaking of a fate string from each other, his head whips around when he spots a flashing string, the red flashes brightly, a spark and click that lights the air and settles him somewhere deep in his core. He follows the flashing to two smiling boys, though they are walking away from each other, Tsuna can tell from the glow around their upper arms that they just had their first fated meeting.  
Something in the glow strikes Tsuna as familiar, and a memory floods his mind of a time when he was very young, only around eight when Fuuta was three and they were playing in the park.

Tsuna remembered the day well because it was one of the few days he had to call upon his cynical side to stay strong. There was a group of boys playing in the sandbox when Tsuna and Fuuta arrived- sent by Tsuna’s mother to go play together- the boys saw Tsuna and decided to play a little game. Now when they saw Fuuta the game only became ‘more’ fun. First they threw stones, then sticks, and finally that started taunting and bullying both Tsuna and Fuuta, well, Tsuna had had enough of that.  
He stood then, shielding Fuuta with his little body and told the bullies straight out with a commanding tone that actually made then stop what they were doing, to “Leave me and Fuuta alone.”  
Of course once the shock wore off, because Tsuna was not one to actually stand up for himself, they laughed in his face. The leader approached Tsuna, giggles on his lips as he watched the stony eyes become even stonier- now wasn’t that just the most interesting thing?  
“Why should we do that little baby Tsuna?” the leader taunted. He was taller than Tsuna by a margin- the tallest in Tsuna’s class in fact. His hair was greasy and his clothes rumpled in that way that made Tsuna assumed that the boy’s family did not care very much about him.  
“Because I said so. We’ve done nothing to you.” Tsuna explained. He had crossed his arms over his chest and took a wide stance. He radiated protective fury and when he felt Fuuta grip his pant leg it only got worse.  
Of course though, his bravado could only go so far. The boy’s were bigger, stronger, and meaner than he was; they simply laughed and moved to beat Tsuna into the ground.  
Tsuna had to think fast, he knew none of his punches would work on them, they were just too big, so he did the only thing he could, he messed with fate.  
Stepping forward Tsuna threw his weight into the punch his father taught him the last time he was home he threw his weight in to the punch hoping that the momentum would surprise the bullies. Now, it did hurt, and hurt a lot, but not enough to down the opponent, so Tsuna did the next best thing, as he pulled back, he allowed the red string tying around the bully to catch on his fist, he didn’t know who the sting connected to or where it went, but just having it was enough.  
The next thing Tsuna knew the bully was clutching his stomach on the ground, fear evident in his eyes as the anger and fury Tsuna radiated flowed down the string. That was the very first time Tsuna used the string to protect himself.  
“That was an EXTREME punch!”  
A blonde boy, maybe a year or so older than Tsuna appeared then, his fists pumped into the air and an excited aura of brightblindingbrilliant yellow surrounded him.  
Seeing the older boy made the bullies scatter, and Tsuna had never been so relieved to see anyone than when this boy arrived. He was happy, bright and full of energy that made Tsuna want to tackle him to the ground and hug him.  
“Thank you Onii-san, my name is Tsuna.”  
Something caught his eyes then, a sadness when he called the boy ‘Onii-san’ he didn’t like that fallen expression on the boy, Tsuna remembered it was just so painful to see, and it really did made him hug the boy tightly.  
“I’m sorry.  
The boy was taken aback of course, because the boy had read him almost immediately. He hugged back, missing the contact of a younger child in his arms. He ruffled brown hair, marvelling at the softness, and embraced the warmth, because it was just so warm.  
“It’s okay, my name is Ryohei.” Tsuna wasn’t sure he liked the tone if the voice, so sad and desperate, but he nodded.   
“Tsu~ Fuuta~ where are you?”  
Tsuna mother arrived then, and he was relieved, he wanted to find out what was wrong with his new friend, but knew that he would probably say nothing around Tsuna’s little brother.   
“Mama! We’re here.” His mother arrived with a questioning look on her face, but the smile was warm and welcoming, and Tsuna felt his friend loosen up. “This is Ryohei, can I go play with him?” his mother agreed quickly of course, Tsuna having never really shown an interest in other children.  
“Of course Tsu~ I’ll take Fuuta home, make sure you’re home before it gets dark. It’s lovely to meet you Ryohei-kun.”  
With that his mother left. He turned to Ryohei with a contemplative expression, and he could see the confusion in the brown eyes watching him when he hugged the boy tighter.  
“I want to know what’s wrong Onii-san. Why are you so sad?”  
Now, the boy wouldn’t be able to tell anyone, not himself, or eventually his family, but the little brunette still clinging to him felt important, felt like someone he had met life times ago, and despite the fact that he had told none of his friends, he was obliged to tell this little brunette everything about the pain in his heart, and the pain in his family.  
“My sister is very sick. My family is having a really hard time.”  
Tsuna was pleased when the boy started talking, but soon tears filled his eyes, because this wasn’t what he wanted. Soon he had the boy directing him to the hospital where his sister was staying; they entered quickly, arriving in the children’s ward.   
It was sterile, clean, and slept like sickness and death. There was beeping in the corner of every bed and the TVs played shows Tsuna knew children in his class liked to watch. He was immediately drawn to the child in the far corner that was watching the sky, more specifically the sun as it started to travel the afternoon sky.  
“Kyoko. This is Tsuna, he wanted to meet you.”  
Soon enough, lightly browned eyes swirled to Tsuna, and he realised just how sick this little girl was. Her hair was limp and lack-luster, her body painfully skinny and frail. The gleam in her eyes, one that was present in everything living was dim and full of pain. She smiled though, a beautiful smile, and Tsuna knew then that she was resigned to whatever fate that painfully thick string wrapped around her chest dictated.  
“It’s nice to meet you Kyoko-Chan. I’m Tsuna.”  
Tsuna watched in amazement as the girl’s face fell into confusion, and watched with mild disgust as the red string fluttered helplessly. This girl was sick, even her strings were sick. Tsuna had no idea of what he should do, he didn’t have the power to help this girl, and he didn’t have the power to help the bright boy as he dimmed more and more as Tsuna watched on.  
They were there most of the afternoon, and as the sun started dipping Ryohei offered to walk Tsuna home. “It was nice to meet you Kyoko-Chan.” With that and a wave he left the ward feeling sick and useless.  
Just before they arrived at his house Tsuna looked deeply into the somber eyes of the bright boxer-boy. They were not as bright as he would have liked, and he was certain, the pain and tightness in his chest telling him so- that helping this boy was the right thing to do.  
“Onii-San, I promise you that I will do what I can to help you. Even if I am not strong, or rich, or very nice to be around, I want to help you, I will help you, Onii-san.”  
There was a brightened then, one Tsuna wouldn’t realise until his teens meant that he had made a connection with the boy, and Tsuna knew that even if he didn’t see the boy for years he was fated to meet him again in the future.

Tsuna took his exam in stride, he knew that when he entered the exam hall he was distracted by the sudden resurface of the memory, but philosophy was where he excelled, so Tsuna was not even that worried.  
It was when he was leaving exam hall that Tsuna noticed something. A bright, wavy, yellow string. He paused then, because there was something painfully and breathtakingly familiar about the colour. It was his ‘Onii-san’s’ colour. Tsuna didn’t even have to command his body at that point, because soon enough he had the yellow string in his hand sending warmth down its length and hoping to get a response.  
He almost laughed with joy when a frail response reached him, and he chased the brightening glow of the string, one he remembered from his youth when he told Ryohei that he would be there, even if he wasn’t.  
It took Tsuna all of ten minutes to find the owner, taller than before, wide and broadened by muscle he recognised the stock of white hair and the tan that came from being outside a large margin of the time.  
“Onii-san.” The words were foreign coming from Tsuna’s mouth, it being something of ten years since he uttered such beautiful words, but the tall boy swung around, as if slapped in the face. His face brightened and his arms unconsciously opened as Tsuna flung himself into the arms.  
Painful tightness erupted in his chest then, the old yellow string shedding a dulled outer casing in exchange for a bright, burning yellow weave coated in orange threads. It was a beautiful sight, Tsuna’s string weaving around the yellow and spidering all along the length that connected them, the yellow was a burning inferno of colour and warmth and Tsuna was so glad that Ryohei hadn’t lost his brightness over the years.  
“Tsuna! That was an EXTREME greeting!” the hug Tsuna received in exchange for his tackle was warm and full. There was sadness, but Tsuna was sure he could fix that quickly with the introduction of Ryohei into his growing ‘family’.  
“It’s good to see you Onii-san. It has been way too long.” Tsuna wasn’t sure how to proceed, because everything was just too painful for the white-haired boy to speak of. “How are you doing?”  
There was a pause, and Ryohei started leading Tsuna towards the hospital. Tsuna immediately thought the worse, but at least his suspicion that Kyoko had died was dimmed.  
“Things have been tough since you last saw her. Our parents split up only a year after you met Kyoko, and since then I’ve taken custody of her, our parents send money every month, but it’s difficult sometimes.”  
Tsuna was angered by the statement. He wasn’t sure why, but an orange glow started to burn around the string, the strings belonging to Ryohei, Takeshi, and Hayato glowed a burning brightness, a protective glow that Tsuna was sure stemmed from his anger. Ryohei turned to him, as if the feelings translated to him through the string he couldn’t see.  
“It’s okay Tsuna; it’s just how it is.”  
They arrived at the hospital quickly, and instead of heading to the children’s ward- somewhere Tsuna was sure Kyoko should still be in- they arrived at the long term patient’s ward. There the girl in question lay; she was hooked up to an uncountable number of machines, each one beeping in a slow and lazy rhythm. She was even frailer than before, sleeping under a mask, and drowned in the blankets that kept her warm.  
“She’s been like this for eight years. The illness took a turn and now she’s in a coma.” Ryohei’s voice broke as he spoke, the brightness of his tone and the love in his words doing nothing to sooth Tsuna like they did when they were children. “The doctor’s say she has less than a year.”  
Tears welled in the tall boy’s eyes then, his face breaking into something indescribable. Tsuna internally cursed the siblings’ parents, because they left their son to deal with all the grief and pain that his sister’s illness brought. Tsuna knew he had to do something.  
Just as he’s about to move to comfort Ryohei, a burning at his throat makes him pause. He grabs the thick string tying his throat and follows it, his eyes widen with realisation as he watches the thick red tightens around the auburn haired girls chest. The string is thicker than when they were all children, the red brighter and deeper, and Tsuna’s horrors are realised when her skin brightens slightly to his tough on the string.  
Her fate is tied to him as tightly as her brother’s is.  
Tsuna knows then that this fate is unavoidable, because the siblings also share a thick red string, and if that were strained by death, well, Tsuna was sure that Ryohei would never be the same again. Placing a heavy shoulder onto Ryohei’s shoulder, Tsuna makes a promise he isn’t sure he will be able to keep, but he’ll die before he gives up.  
“Thank you.”   
When those words reach his ears, and a smile makes its way onto the taller boy’s face, Tsuna knows his decision is right, even if it is impossible. They leave then, Tsuna placing a kiss onto Kyoko’s cheek, whispering his promise to her as well, and Tsuna makes his way home.  
“Well, aren’t you going to come home?”  
The smile he receives them is bright and beautiful, and when greeted with the loud, happy, somewhat sad voice of the boxer Tsuna can’t help the smile that flickers onto his own lips.  
“EXTREMELY of course!”


	5. So close they are one

It hadn’t taken long for the boys in his life to become so integral that he felt if they were to suddenly say ‘you know I don’t really like you, Tsuna’ he might just die. It was kind of surreal really, that so suddenly, just over a month in fact, was all it took for his dull, lonely, painfully cynical life to tilt on its axis to forty-five degrees, brighten like the strings wrapping his chest, and become something beautiful and full. It wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine of course, all three of the friends he felt so connected to have had difficult lives, from betrayal and lack of trust, to simply feeling overwhelmed by it all, and it was Tsuna’s duty to fix them, slowly, and painstakingly with love and friendship. It was working slowly, but so slowly that Tsuna would be overwhelmed by the powerful waves of emotions radiating from the strings from time to time and feel as if it were him that was the one being overwhelmed by life and loss.  
There was something different about that week. Not just the fact that their already tight group was filled with loudmouthed sunshine, but something heavy. In all honesty Tsuna had not been sleeping well, he had been rather fitful in his sleep, either not able to stay asleep, or not getting to sleep. Hayato was worried but brushed it off as stress over the passing examinations.  
Tsuna suggested they all go for a picnic at the local shrine to celebrate the passing of their exams- their results many weeks away- and everyone agreed brightly. Lambo would go as would Fuuta, but I-pin would stay with Tsuna’s mother for some ‘mother-daughter bonding’ that they so rarely got with so many boys in the house.  
Tsuna’s mother packed a large basket of foods and drinks, some desserts and a blanket and Tsuna thanked her with a kiss on the cheek. Hayato took the basket and Takeshi took the blanket and drinks while Ryohei swung Lambo up onto his shoulders and called loudly to the neighbourhood. “We’re EXTREMELY going for an EXTREME picnic!!”  
Of course Tsuna laughed at his ‘brother’s’ enthusiasm, as did Takeshi, and Hayato scowled and complained about loud-mouthed-lawn-heads. Arguments erupted, but Tsuna couldn’t find it in himself to break them up, because he could sense no malice in their words and actions. As they walked and he smiled, Tsuna felt Fuuta’s hand slip into his and smiled even more. It was so nice to have such loving siblings.  
But there was something else there while they walked. It felt like a weight was pressing on his back, sad and lonely, the aura was not really malicious, but somewhat vindictive, and a little possessive. He had no idea what he was thinking, but he turned suddenly, hoping to see something. To his dismay he saw nothing, but felt a kick in the chest from the Indigo strings tying his chest in tight bunches.  
“Tsuna-nii?” Fuuta asked worriedly. The others stopped their laughter as they heard the young boy’s question.   
Ryohei was amazed really, not so much at his own actions, but most certainly at Takeshi's and Hayato’s. It was as if the boys were synced to Tsuna, and if not to his actions then the mention of them. As if there were some chord that connected them and told them something was up, made them instinctively move and act if Tsuna’s name was mentioned. Ryohei couldn’t pinpoint what emotion it was they displayed in their actions, given he had known the three for less than a week, but it was something magnificent, pure, and protective. Something he would later realise, he was instinctively displaying as well.  
Tsuna smiled, ruffled the lightly browned hair and walked towards the shrine. The others brushed his actions off as being tired, but something in the shadows frowned at the boys who followed the brunette. Of course, before any of them got too far away the shadow flickered and disappeared, going ahead to watch the brunette and his band of friends.  
They ate their food slowly. Laughing at jokes and watching the clouds, just enjoying their time. Takeshi napped as Hayato, Fuuta, Tsuna, and Ryohei played a game of cards, and then Hayato read his book as the rest played a game of catch. It was enjoyable. As the day went on tensions grew though. First arguments became more sinister. They were less about playful banter than about true anger. Then the words flew; words that were truly mean and hurtful. Then came the looks. Eventually Hayato stopped; he turned to the remaining members of the group, eyes darkened by anger from what Takeshi had said.  
“Say that again baka. I swear I will kill you if you said what I think you said.” His anger was smoldering, but Tsuna could see it, see the explosive fuse Takeshi had lit.  
“I said that you need to stop being so useless. Tsuna doesn’t need you to hold his hand every step of the way.”  
“Like you would know, you’ve never had friends! What would you know about what Tsuna does or doesn’t need?!”  
Ryohei stepped in then trying to be the big brother and sort things out. “Hayato! You’ve EXTREMELY crossed the line. EXTREMELY you too Takeshi! We’re all friends here.”  
Tsuna watched on with fear. Fuuta and Lambo were looking on with equal confusion and apprehension. Tsuna did not know what to do. He tried speaking up, getting in between the boys, but it didn’t work, and they continued to argue around him.  
“Shut UP! You stupid fool. Just because you’re stupid little sister is in the hospital doesn’t mean you can baby us!”  
That was it for Tsuna. He was not going to stand for them to rip each other apart. They each trusted each other with their deepest fears and pains, not to exploit them, and now this was getting out of hand. Takeshi looked about ready to kill Hayato, and Ryohei looked about ready to cry and break the boys.  
“Stop it all of you! You don’t need to fight! I think we’re all just tired and need to go home now.” His voice betrayed his calm, it wasn’t as even and fearless as he’s hoped, the boys seemed to sense it and jump on it.  
“Shut-Up Tsuna! We don’t care about your opinion.” Takeshi spoke up, his eyes still furious at Hayato for his words, but completely uncaring about Tsuna’s worry, or the pure, agonized expression that crossed Tsuna’s face when he said those words.  
Tears gathered at the corners of Tsuna’s eyes, because those words hurt so much to hear. He turned then, grabbing Fuuta’s and Lambo’s hands as he did. “If that’s the case, then good bye.”  
It hurt Tsuna more that not one of them turned to watch him leave.  
Fuuta and Lambo stayed quiet for a while, not really sure what to do, but when they saw the tears still gathered in Tsuna’s eyes they squeezed his hands and pressed themselves closer to their brother, hoping that they could show their brother that they loved him and that they cared about his opinion more than anyone else’s.  
Of course it didn’t work, but Tsuna squeezed back, appreciating the love and effort. They arrived home to a happy Nana and I-pin and Tsuna had to force a painful smile onto his face, say he was going to bed early, that Hayato was staying over Takeshi's, and all but sprint up the stairs to the safety of his room where he could cry and beg and ask some deity why it was this was happening.  
When the scent of the room- usually shared by Hayato and himself, and Takeshi and Ryohei now too- he felt a hollow thump in his chest as the strings practically fought themselves. It felt like something was dying in Tsuna, and he didn’t know why. It never felt so painful when he lost friends before. So he couldn’t help but question;  
“Why now?!”  
He went to bed angry that evening. Angry at Hayato for his outburst and angry at Takeshi for his suddenly deciding not to play mediator, and he was angry at Ryohei for not being his usual bright self.  
He was so very bitter that evening, because it seemed like he could not help his friends, the ones he promised he would save from themselves; he could not stop Hayato from feeling insecure and betrayed; he could not stop Takeshi from feeling abandoned and worthless; he could not stop Ryohei from feeling hopelessly lost and pained from the condition of his sister. Tsuna wished he was not so useless, that he understood people to a deeper level than just their strings and the emotions and feelings that radiated from them, because while the strings may be important they were ever so shallow.  
He really didn’t think that he would ever feel as angry, sad, and fed up as he did that evening. He always thought he would be able to keep his cool, keep calm, and think about the lonely days before he let his temper get the better of him. But Tsuna had had enough! He couldn’t even describe the heavy pain in his chest that had nothing to do with tight strings. When he turned over in his bed, tears in his eyes and whimpers making their way through his chest, he didn’t feel the saddened auras behind him, ones that followed him throughout the day -sitting at his back and by his legs –and as a heavy hand stroked through his hair and another lighter one ran comforting stokes along his calf he drifted deeper and deeper into sleep where darkness crept along his mind and eased him, protecting him from all the cruelties of his own mind.

He woke that morning feeling somewhat sluggish and ill. He felt his forehead prick with sweat and his gut twist with nausea. He put it down to the late night and the poor diet he had had lately. His sleeping patterns were everywhere and he suspected the stress of exams lifting from his shoulders was the reason for his sudden ill feeling.  
Standing up, swaying a little as the blood gathers in his feet, Tsuna makes his way downstairs. He smells the coffee and hears the clinking of plates, but there’s something missing, something nagging in the back of his mind that there’s something important missing in this morning scene.  
He eats silently, greeting his mother with a kiss. There’s something missing still. Before he can really concentration on that missing thing, three tumbling, and yawning children walk into the room. They light up when they see their big brother up before them and hug him with glee.  
“Tsuna-nii! Are you feeling better?” Fuuta looked over Tsuna with calm hands, trying to see if his ‘Tsuna-nii’ was injured anywhere.  
“Yeah Tsuna-nii, Lambo-Sama wants to play!”  
“Lambo! Tsuna-nii are you feeling better today?”  
“Better?” Tsuna’s taken back by their worry, but for the life of him he cannot figure out why they would say he didn’t feel well last night. A hollow kick hits his head and a tightness in his gut tells him something is wrong.  
They eat their breakfast when Tsuna realises what it is that is missing. Or, more correctly, what the things are, that are missing. There are no strings. Anywhere. Not on his mother, not on him and nothing connecting him to his siblings in the only tangible evidence Tsuna had that they loved him and his love was returned almost tenfold.  
Shock is obviously evident on his face, and he wouldn’t be surprised if Lambo’s look of fear comes from the pain evident in his eyes, because Tsuna’s mother speaks up then from the counter where she was making more pancakes.  
“Tsu- Are you alright?” trying to school his expression to something more tamed and explainable Tsuna’s mind rushes through any explanation he can.  
“Sorry... I just remembered I have a major project due in the next few days.” His laugh isn’t as happy or worried as he’d like, it sounds choked and on the verge of tears.  
“A project? Is my little boy doing extra-credit work already! I’m so proud of you. Children don’t bother Tsuna for a while okay? He needs to work on this project of his.” Nana appeased leaved Tsuna with a moment to excuse himself from the table, ruffle the kids’ heads and run to his room.  
He stands before his mirror, stripped to his boxers and staring into the reflection, all he can see is his skin, his planar chest and legs, and his wide, frantic, tear-filled eyes. There. Were. No. Strings.  
His knees collapsed then. Thinking it a dream. There was nothing in the world more calming to him than the strings, nothing in the world more normal and comforting than the strings wrapped around his entire body. They were his life, his proof of love and friendship, they were his everything, and suddenly they were gone!  
A second thing became apparent in his mind, Hayato still wasn’t home. Neither was Takeshi or Ryohei, looking over to the clock Tsuna noticed it was a late hour in the morning, and by now all three boys were usually awake and eating breakfast in his kitchen.  
Chocking back a sob he didn’t know was there, Tsuna stood and dressed. He threw on anything he could find, a pair of dark-blue jeans went over his blue boxers, a button-up, white dress shirt went over his yellow t-shirt, and a pair of red converse was thrown onto his feet. He was out the door with a quick shout to this mother and siblings that he was going to the library to do some research.  
Tsuna ran through the streets, trying to find some kind of sign of the strings. People laughed and joked around him, girls held hands and walked down the street towards the shopping district, and boys pushed each other as they ran through the crowded Saturday streets. Everything was so normal, but at the same time everything was not.  
Tsuna’s first step was to find Hayato, the boy he was so sure would help him and give him the comfort he needed. His first place to look was the local hotels. Now, he knew no one would give him Hayato’s personal information, but at least he could see if the silver-haired boy was around. As he arrived at the last hotel in the area- none of the others having been successful, Tsuna notices something that made his heart stop and the tears fall mercilessly.  
There was the subtle, hinted scent of books in the air. The area around him trembled, as if the world was shaking on its axis, and he could have sworn, with all his heart and soul that the two people to his right had just completed their fate. The rumble, the scent, everything was there but the sight, and it was killing Tsuna’s insides.  
He turned then and sprinted away from the scene, one up until yesterday would have brought joy to his day. When he finally stopped, bent over his knees and panting with sobs choking his throat he saw Hayato.  
He was walking with a bag of groceries towards the last hotel in town, the bags were fairly empty, and Tsuna was sure that they were full of the junk he used to eat before Nana’s interference. In his hand, balanced expertly was the cigarette Tsuna found he missed.  
“Hayato!”  
The boy swung around, but his eyes narrowed dangerously when Tsuna approached and moved to hug him.  
“What the hell are you doing you freak?! Get away from me!” his words were harsh and raspy, as if said through a filter. He swung around to fully face Tsuna, and to Tsuna’s horror there was no recognition in the solid irises of emerald.  
“H-Hayato... what do you-“  
“How do you know my name? Go away and bother someone else.” With that the furious teen walked away and Tsuna was left reeling and gasping for breath; because it wasn’t right, something wasn’t right. As he watched the retreating back, a slow coil of smoke following him, Tsuna realised that the phantom pain in his chest was back and the tightness of where the red string should be grew ever tighter.  
As Tsuna ran, towards the school where he was sure he’d find Takeshi or Ryohei, Tsuna paused. What if they were like Hayato, what if they didn’t remember him? Tsuna's chest kicked hollowly, as if something was calling to him. Out of instinct he looked down, only to see his feet paused from their earlier dash. Tears welled in his eyes, because it was so wrong and so painful to have everything gone, but to still have the phantom pains that the weeping strings used to give him.  
Dashing his eyes with his sleeve, Tsuna runs towards the baseball field. There Takeshi was standing, swinging his bat with a practiced ease. All around him were the friends he had before Tsuna. The boys were laughing and joking, throwing around a baseball as they spoke of benchwarmers and new records. One thing that struck Tsuna was how happy Takeshi looked. It was as if Tsuna had never existed in his life, as if he hadn’t saved him, and as if their fates had never crossed.  
Before he was noticed Tsuna ran away, more tears in his eyes and more pain tightening the skin on his chest. He ran and ran, not even bothering to find Ryohei because it was just going to hurt so much to see the boxer as well, because the Ryohei from yesterday was not happy, and to see him happy again would just prove to Tsuna that he was not doing a good enough job at being his friend.  
With thighs burning and calves alight with pain and extension Tsuna found himself in the forestry to the east of Namimori’s shopping district. It was secluded, empty, and dark. The ground was damp from the rains only a few days ago and the bracken bit satisfyingly at Tsuna’s legs when his knees gave out. Placing his head on the ground, letting the cold, wet earth comfort him, Tsuna wailed. His cried were not heard beyond the greenery, and though Tsuna didn’t know it, they should have been heard.   
It just hurt so much, he didn’t think it would, he didn’t think being rejected would be so painful. Tsuna has sighed and half-heartedly wished away the strings in the past, especially when his friendships were torn apart and he was left secluded and alienated, but never, never had he truly wanted the strings gone from his life. Not now, and certainly not ever again. It was wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG!  
Cool, calming, possessive auras surrounded Tsuna, telling him everything was okay, that they were doing it for a reason, Tsuna just barely noticed, because the comforting hands running along his back and in his hair weren’t actually there.  
He startled then, because there was something in his peripheral vision, something light and airy, floating with seemingly no predetermined path and as if connected to nothing. As soon as he swung his head around the something disappeared and only air was left; but he caught sight of it again, to his left this time, and before he could do anything his body followed it, catching glimpses in the corner of his vision. He chased the string desperately, because it was the first sign of anything remotely normal to him since that morning. In to the night he chased it, well until dusk, but it was worth it, because the tears in his eyes and the thump in his chest told him it was.  
As he ran the string grew darker, his desperation removing whatever curse or filter was blocking his view of strings. The string was dark, violet with swirls and twists of so many other shades. There were two distinct strings braided and tied together, and Tsuna knew it was the string that caused him the most curiosity, the string that was one but belonged to two.  
He must look insane as he runs, tears streaming his face, desperation bleeding from his every movement, stopping and looking around erratically, it amazed Tsuna that the people who stop and watch him with hinted disgust, worry, and fear don’t call someone to catch him. But, Tsuna’s not really concerned with that right now, because the soul deep agony writhing under his skin is telling him to run, run fast, run far, and care not for the onlookers who know nothing of strings and fate and the pain his is in.  
Tsuna has time to think as he runs, because his body is so in tune with the strings that have been a part of his life for almost eighteen years that it moves on its own to chase the twisting, floating violet string that keeps appearing in his peripheral and leads him to somewhere he needs to be.  
Tsuna thinks about the insanity of it all, because here he is, chasing something that shouldn’t exist- that probably doesn’t exist given the ridiculousness of it- and earlier that day he had cursed its existence for causing him so much pain. Now though, he realises just how integral the strings are in his very existence, he feels vulnerable, naked, and so very, very lonely and scared without them.  
He thinks about Hayato, Takeshi, and Ryohei as he runs, of his siblings, and of the remaining strings that until that morning he had been able to see. He misses it, and he wants to laugh through his tears because it was so stupid to think that. It had been just over a month since everything changed, since Hayato barged into his life- well no, since he barged into Hayato’s- even less than that since Ryohei and Takeshi had joined the mix, but Tsuna just felt so empty, so dead without the burning owners of the strings there with him. It was crazy, insane, unreal, and so completely and utterly believable that this was happening and that he felt so alone without them. It took another point of view to reflect on something, and Tsuna had never felt what it was like on the other side of a friendship, on a receiving end of one.  
Something snags his ankle then, wrapping and catching as he passes it. His mind is ripped from its hysterical thoughts as he skids across the gravel floor. His shoulder bears the impact, pain registering sharply in his mind. Gravel sticks to his knees and his left leg, litters his side and chest, but he doesn’t care; because he finds exactly what it was he was searching for as he stands. The blood starts dripping down his leg and bleeds through the scratch on his face as his eyes widen, tear up and eventually overflow with warmth and relief. He’s finally found the owners.  
He was standing on the only barren part of the scenery. Tall grass layers the ground, swaying in a warm breeze that smells of wild flowers and pine needles. A tall wall of trees lines the glade, acting as a barrier and protection; the leaves hold a pleasant green splash of colour as they whip in the breeze, and as they rustle their music drifts on the wind to Tsuna’s ears. Wildflowers dot around the glade, some bright and powerful with scents overwhelming and stiff, and others are dull and muted, their scents subtle and drowning. Of course, while the scenery is beautiful and attention demanding, Tsuna’s focus is pulled to a pair of teens- similar in age to himself- who stood only a short distance in front of him.  
Now, the boy and girl who stood before Tsuna were apprehensive. They stood close, the female hiding most of her slender body behind the taller male, their posture was scared, and their faces ashamed, but the boy held something dark in his eyes, something hazardous.  
Both were tall, blue hair reaching their chins in the front, and for the boy, a long pony-tail of hair was tossed over his shoulder and reached the bottom of his ribs. The girl’s hair was spiked up, similar to the male’s and Tsuna thought the style was similar to a pineapple’s top.  
Their eyes were what spoke miles to Tsuna, saddened, dark, untrusting. The girl’s eyes held a violet hue unnatural to any human Tsuna had met, they were wide and airy, full of life, and the potential to love openly, but they were shielded by fear and pain, and Tsuna knew the girl needed help and friendship.  
The boy’s eyes were something completely breathtaking. One was blue, deep, dark, and cold, but there was a depth to it that made Tsuna feel protected, swallowed, completely free of all fear of attack, he felt defended by the boy. His other eyes was red, as dark and thick as blood would be, it was unnatural, and deadly, from it stemmed power, and Tsuna knew this boy was dangerous, far more dangerous than Hayato was. His pupil flickered, changing shape to form numbers, the flickering was erratic, and Tsuna knew that it was nervousness.  
But the strings were what drew Tsuna in, made him take steps towards the pair of teens with the same face, they were wrapped in the string, it circled their arms and legs, and wrapped tightly around their chests. Around the girl’s abdomen the strings were especially tight, lacing with the darker tones that Tsuna knew were the male’s unique strings, protecting her, from what? Tsuna didn’t know. In the space between them, as small as that space was, the strings laced together, making a net, and unbreakable connection that Tsuna was awed to see, it was so private, and he averted his eyes to ensure it kept its purity. The strings radiated power, possessiveness stronger than anything Tsuna had ever felt, and power; dark and dangerous power that threatened to crush Tsuna where he stood.  
When Tsuna felt the blast of aura, defensive, possessive, and vindictive, something clicked in his mind. It was the same presence that had been following him, embracing him, protecting him since the day before. While Tsuna was put on guard by the ferocity of the pressure, he was immediately calmed, and curious as to why these strangers would do all that for him, why they felt that they had to.  
“Kufufufu.” The boy laughed, though the trident in his hands was subjected to a tightened grip as his heterochromatic eyes ran over Tsuna’s form, judging it, assessing it. “It would seem, dear Chrome, that our little kitten is stronger than we thought.”  
“Mukuro-sama, I told you this would hurt him.”  
Tsuna paused for thought, the words were taunting, goading him into aggression, but the tone, and the way the violet string snaked around Tsuna, squeezing tightly with the words, it made Tsuna think otherwise. It made him think that the male was apologizing. “Were you the ones that did this? Who took the strings away?”  
He had to pause again; he was actually telling these two, twins he would say if his gut weren’t telling him otherwise, all about the strings. No one in his life had ever known about his power, but he felt as if it were the right thing to do, to tell them about everything he had felt, everything he had witnessed.  
“Yes.” The girl answered, she was shy, blinking back tears as they gathered in her eyes; she was afraid.  
“Why?”  
He felt more than saw the tall male stiffen. There was something he was hiding, something he didn’t want to say. His body language was lazy, arrogant and powerful, but his strings were saying otherwise, as if his fate rested on Tsuna’s next words, and Tsuna realised with horror and pain that there was no orange string tightened around the violet, as if their fates were not yet sealed.  
He acted as he felt was right, stepping forward slowly with his legs brushing the long grass, leaving dew clinging to his ripped jeans and soaking him through. He stopped when he was directly in front of the boy and girl, reaching his hand out, he was met by a petite hand, shaking and thin, his fingers intertwined with the fragile, pale limb and he hoped the protection and promise he made to himself translated through to her. His other hand snaked to one of the hands tightened on the trident staff, with a persistent pressure the hand was pried off and Tsuna did the same to the gloved hand of the male as he did to the girl’s hand.  
He looked into the girl’s eyes first, burning resolve solidifying the brown into something sparking with orange and gold, the girl’s eyes widened, because she felt safe when the brunette looked at her, she felt like he would never let anything touch her as long as she was with him. She found herself unconsciously squeezing the warm hand that held hers back, and she found her free hand gripping the long coat of her partner, encouraging him to trust in the boy.  
When Tsuna’s eyes found heterochromatic, he paused, knowing that this boy didn’t need pity or the promise of protection, no, this boy was stronger than Tsuna and needed no protection of the physical kind, he heeded something deeper; the promise of acceptance.   
A rush followed, all three teens left wide eyed as emotions, memories, fears, pains, and past flew through their minds. Something connected them for an instant, blurring the edges of their separated consciousnesses into one, something so deeply personal and invading that it left them all feeling disgusted for a moment, but soon enough they were flooded with the protection and possession of each other, it didn’t feel all that disgusting anymore.  
Tsuna saw scenes of torture and taboo, of experimentation and neglect. The two teens, Mukuro and Chrome were not as they appeared to be. Having never truly known family, they were thrust into cages the moment money became part of the equation as their families turned them over for experimentation that Tsuna never knew even existed. Tears welled in his eyes as his mind was bombarded with memories and emotions that were not his, phantom pains echoes in his body as his mind played the scenes as his own, but his hands tightened on the intertwined fingers, because he felt so angered that he was not there to protect these two people from the horror that was their past.  
Mukuro and Chrome were greeted with images less terrifying, but sad in their own right. They were greeted with pain and anguish that Tsuna had felt throughout his life caused by the strings that tied him. They met with the insanity Tsuna felt creeping up on him when he was ripped from friend after friend after friend, and finally they felt the rush of relief and happiness he felt when he finally, finally, met someone who was connected to one of the colourful strings. They were aghast and ashamed at their actions when they were greeted by the actual emotions Tsuna’s screams were caused by, because they had caused the pain and grief when they took the strings away from him in an ignorant effort to protect him.  
When the flow of memories faded to a trickle, leaving behind blurred consciousnesses and sore souls, Tsuna found himself with an armful of crying girl, she had her head buried in Tsuna’s neck, and tears touched his collar bone as they ran from her eyes. She begged and begged with Tsuna’s arms the only thing keeping her standing as the grief took her legs from her.  
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Mukuro-sama only wanted to save you. To help you.”  
Tsuna looked so confused, but as his arms wrapped tightly around the weeping girl his eyes found the confused eyes of Mukuro. “I don’t understand.”  
“You’ve been calling us for a long time Tsunayoshi. A very long time.”  
“I haven’t been calling you.” Tsuna objected with confusion tingeing his expressive voice. He had done nothing to call these strange teenagers to his side, and certainly not asking them to do something so sudden and brutal to him.  
“Yes you have, your subconscious had been calling to us, through this string here.” Mukuro’s hand wrapped around the violet string, and Tsuna’s entire body froze, because the feeling flowing into him was so aggressive and violent that the felt the need to take up a fighting stance, it felt invading, but at the same time, it felt, peaceful, as if every pressure point was being stroked and left him feeling completely at ease, it was so violating, but at the same time liberating. “We’ve been trying to find you Tsunayoshi, trying to contact you.” Tsuna looked at the boy in shock, he wondered if that was what it felt like every time Tsuna touched the strings wrapping around his chest, if they felt so peaceful and at ease, if the strings’ owners understood what Tsuna was trying to do every time he wished upon them.  
“Why would you do that?”  
“Because you are ours. Those other idiots do not deserve you, Tsunayoshi.”  
Mukuro’s words were sudden, and he had Tsuna’s chin in his hand, making him stare into his eyes. It was something terrifying, but exciting, because this boy knew everything about Tsuna’s power, about what he could see and feel, about what he could do; but here he was aggressive, insane, and possessive. There was something in his tone something violent, something that told Tsuna he was being used, and for some frightening reason Tsuna found that he didn’t mind.  
“I don’t understand. Why would you go so far for me? I’m not important at all.”  
When those words tumbled from his lips a flash of pain entered Mukuro’s eyes, and Tsuna couldn’t help but wonder about what Mukuro was seeing in that memory haze. Arms squeezed his waist directing his eyes into the one visible purple eye of Chrome.  
“Mukuro-sama means that you are important to us. You have been calling to us for so long Tsunayoshi, and Mukuro-sama wants to protect you from everything. You helped up escape, gave us the power to find our way out; to find you.” Chrome took a breath before she continued when she realised that Tsuna was not going to interrupt her. “Mukuro-sama doesn’t want to share you, and especially not with those friends of yours who can’t see what we can, who don’t understand you like we do.”  
Tsuna wasn’t sure why, but he felt he could believe Chrome’s words, even if they sounded so unbelievable. He was useless, weak, and cowardly, yet this girl was saying that he gave them power? It didn’t seem possible. But when he heard her words, Tsuna was determined- promising to himself in a deep and dark part of himself- that he’d make those words true. He’d protect these new friends from whatever it was that was coming for them from their past.   
He would get that vengeance that Mukuro’s tone said he wanted. He would protect Chrome from the loneliness and fear she harboured in her eyes. He would show them that his friends weren’t all that bad, show them that they could trust and open up without having to hide and covet what they thought was theirs. Tsuna was determined, and Mukuro purred at the thought, because he could read it in Tsunayoshi’s face and body language.  
In the end, he believed Tsuna was his.  
A large gust of wind rockets through the clearing, grasses blow and rocks fly around, the scenery changes to one Tsuna recognises, and he finds himself missing the beautiful meadow with the battlements of oak.  
A pair of arms squeezes Tsuna’s middle as the girl with the long white dress steps away and returns to Mukuro’s side. Her eyes are sad, but glow with a new light, one of hope. A trident materialises in her hands, and with it confidence floods her form. She steps away from Mukuro and Tsuna, running into the building behind her, soon disappearing into the darkness that spills from its bowels.  
Then Tsuna find his face forced upwards, his eyes staring into deep, fathomless pits of emotion and darkness. He supposes he should be afraid of the evil that radiates from the black number that replaces Mukuro’s iris, but he can’t find it in him. He finds he cannot fear Mukuro when the boy radiates such possessive waves that seem to surround Tsuna and promise his protection, even if that protection doesn’t include from the man promising it.  
“Be careful of those friends of yours Tsunayoshi, they hide things from themselves, and in turn they hide things from you.” He looks like he wants to say something else, but he bites his tongue and settles for releasing Tsuna. “Find us soon Tsunayoshi.” With that Mukuro vanished and Tsuna found himself alone in the meadow he had met Mukuro and Chrome.  
A fast, harsh wind whips through the glade, and soon Tsuna finds himself being ripped apart by bracken and stone. The harsh wind blows with warmth that Tsuna recognises as the consciousnesses of Chrome and Mukuro, and knowing he is safe he embraces the wind and finds himself waking from the land of dreams he knows he will be seeing more and more of in his future; especially where Mukuro and Chrome are concerned.

XXXX

He can’t explain the joy that overwhelms him when his eyes open to the sight of string weaving above him. Tears well in his eyes and a sob breaks his lips apart as he gathers them in his arms and presses them against him, trying to feel them more than he’s ever felt them before, trying to engrain them into his body, trying to make them physically a part of him.  
“Tsuna!?”  
Hayato rushes into the room next, and when he spies a crying Tsuna he panics. His immediate thoughts are that the boy is angry at him, but when he’s tackles to the floor, a blubbering Tsuna pressing himself into his chest, begging him not to be a dream, crying that he’s sorry, Hayato having no idea what he’s sorry for, he’s sure that Tsuna is okay, and that the boy must have had a bad dream.  
When Takeshi and Ryohei barge into the room, alerted and terrified when they heard Hayato’s protest and then a large bang- caused by Hayato and Tsuna hitting the floor hard- they are greeted similarly, and soon enough Tsuna is a blubbering mess spewing out incomprehensible words and promises that leave soft smiles on the three teenage boys faces, because Tsuna was just so sensitive.  
When the blubbering is over and Tsuna is assured that they were not a dream he smiles, a truly wonderfully beautiful smile. None of his friends had ever seen anything like it, and they couldn’t quite pinpoint what the tightness in their chests was when they realised that smile was theirs.  
When a rush of heat hits Tsuna during breakfast-having been seated at the dining table quickly after calming down- he smirks and announces that they will be going out for a little while.  
It doesn’t take them long to arrive at the abandoned amusement park in Kokuyo, Takeshi is wary, as is Ryohei, but Hayato seems unfazed, when the two former boys ask him why he isn’t surprised by Tsuna’s choice in outing, Hayato smirks, and looks with soft eyes at Tsuna.  
“If it’s Tsuna brining us here, then something really important or really amazing must be here. I’m finding that since meeting Tsuna, fewer and fewer things are surprising me.”  
When they went to protest, wanting to say ‘even so, coming here is still strange’ Takeshi and Ryohei found that they were agreeing with Hayato. The smoker was right, they felt that if it was Tsuna directing them, leading them, then they would go anywhere, do anything, be anyone that Tsuna wanted them to be, because it just felt so right.  
The three teens almost ploughed into the shorter brunette when he suddenly stopped, but the sight they were greeted with made them pause for thought and forget about the brunette who led them.  
Four teens stood in the center of the dilapidated amusement park’s visitor’s center. Their clothing was dirtied and ruined, their faces pale and sickly, their bodies thin. Despite all this they had an aggressive, dangerous aura to them, a strength that didn’t need a physical image to back it up, Hayato knew that aura, and it took every ounce of his self control not to grab Tsuna by the collar and run with him far away from these four newcomers. As he had said before, if Tsuna was the one leading them here then something was meant to happen, and it was somewhere he was willing to go.  
The three teens watched as their friend approached the tallest boy with blue hair. They all had an uneasy feeling in the pit of their stomach as they watched him, feeling bad vibes from the boy, but as they saw his eyes soften and his shoulders relax- as if they were tensed to the point of snapping- Ryohei, Takeshi, and Hayato realised that Tsuna was something more amazing than they could ever understand. They watched with awe and confusion as Tsuna reached his hands out and intertwined his left hand with the male’s right hand and his right with the small female’s left, it looked strange, especially to Hayato who knew nothing of simple gestures and their effect, Takeshi and Ryohei understood why Tsuna was doing it though, they could see the relief the contact brought to both of the blue-haired teenagers, even if only the small female showed it.  
Ryohei had seen Tsuna giving the same affectionate touches to Takeshi when he was stressed, and knew from experience with a little sister that the softest of touches, the brushes of hands and the nudging of shoulders could do amazing things to people were not openly affectionate, or needed only a little of it- and Ryohei found himself amazed, because Tsuna was so versed in such a delicate kind of comfort and assurance; Ryohei knew that Tsuna would make something amazing of himself at this rate.  
Takeshi knew the gesture from his father and from watching Tsuna with his siblings. Takeshi and his father were never ones for openly hugging, and Takeshi suspected that was where his over affectionate actions stemmed from- the lack of contact with his father- so to see Tsuna using the same technique, but getting an entirely different result made Takeshi smile.  
“Yo! Tsuna, who are our new friends?” his voice was happy and loud, and Tsuna wheeled around almost before the boy opened his mouth.  
Mukuro stilled beside him, his face clouded with displeasure and Tsuna couldn’t help but laugh when he muttered under his breath. “I don’t recall agreeing to befriend these ignorant fools Tsunayoshi.”  
“Takeshi, Ryohei, Hayato, this is Chrome and Mukuro, I met them... a while ago.” Of course interests and suspicions were raised immediately, but when Tsuna’s demanding eyes bore down on them Hayato, Ryohei, and Takeshi found it hard to voice their opinions.  
“Kufufufuf. It seems you get more and more interesting by the minute Tsunayoshi.~” Mukuro practically purred as he wrapped his arms around Tsuna to see the reaction he could get from the hot headed, silver haired teen.  
Of course, he wasn’t disappointed as the smoker lit in fiery crimson and spluttered indignantly searching for his words while trying to keep what dignity he had left. “You stupid Pineapple-Bastard! Get your hands off of Tsuna!”  
Tsuna couldn’t help but laugh outright when he watched the new members of his group integrate flawlessly into what was fast becoming something precious to him. He notices mutely that while Chrome gravitated to Mukuro, she felt drawn to Takeshi as he tried to calm the raging storm that was Hayato; it was interesting really, because as she moved- just that slightest bit away from Mukuro- Tsuna was able to catch a glimpse of a golden light clinging to her. The spider web of string knit all of them together in a mass of colour and connection, the orange wasn’t quite a string, more of a blazing chain- dyed golden in the fading light of the day- it acted something like a cage, keeping them together where their individual strings failed to do so, and Tsuna allowed a smile to grace his lips, because it was amazing that fate was letting him do something so... kind as to collect and keep so many amazing people close to him.  
Looking to his left Tsuna caught sight of two more fate strings, well, there were four, but they were connecting Mukuro and Chrome to the only two remaining people left within Tsuna’s sight range. They looked out of place, awkward and scared, even if they had an outward bravado that challenged Mukuro’s own. One was tall with an emotionless face and a barcode tattoo lining his prominent cheekbone, the other shorter with wild hair and wicked eyes that flickered towards every sound in the area; as if sensing the area for danger.  
“You two must be Ken and Chikusa.” Tsuna shut his mouth before he could say anything else, Mukuro hadn’t officially introduced these boys to him yet, for him to know their names was strange and it was a stupid move for him to use the memories given to him in the strange dream-world so early on. Tsuna still wasn’t sure what to make of that dream world yet, not after the pain and injustices he saw inflicted onto the four teens.  
“Why do you care Byon!” the wild teen answered, he snarled wildly at Tsuna, spitting like a wild animal yet to be tamed or shown kindness, and sadness flickered in Tsuna’s eyes when he realised the reasoning behind his distrust and instinctive fight reflex.  
Chikusa raised an eyebrow when he noticed this flicker of emotion. “Yes, I’m Chikusa. Please don’t mind the mutt; I assure you his bite isn’t as bad as his bark.”  
That ignited a whole new rally of arguments between the stoic teen and his wild friend, but Tsuna thought it was great, because the trust between them was made evident in the glowing, thick string tying them together at the hips.   
“So, do you want to come with us back home? I’m sure my mom has a really nice meal waiting.” Tsuna smiles warmly, minding the personal boundaries he was yet unaware of, but when both teens stopped arguing and looked at him as if he were a saint, he knew that those boundaries he has to be mindful of would soon be nonexistent.  
“Of course Byon!” Ken yelled. “We’re not letting you take Mukuro-sama and that girl away to some strange place!” Ken stormed off towards his friend while Chikusa waited for Tsuna’s reaction. He wasn’t left disappointed when bright, deep laughter rumbled from the brunette’s chest.   
“I think we’re going to have fun, don’t you?”  
Chikusa nodded but said nothing as he moved back towards the group, as he passed the scent of opened books wafted past Tsuna’s nose, concentrated and fresh, the scent mixed the smell of burning wood and the soft scent of chocolate and cinnamon. Tsuna’s eyes widened when the scent wasted and surrounded him, because his eyes caught the new thin, brittle strings that circled his upper arms and mirrored the ones on their owners; Ken and Chikusa.


	6. Anchored to the sky by a violet tether

Tsuna quickly realised after inviting the protective, violent siblings and their little group of followers into his ‘family’ that there was no room at home to live with them. Tsuna sat down in his living room, his mother and siblings having gone out shopping, to discuss what they were going to do, because all- Tsuna paused to count- eight of them could not live in Tsuna’s house any more. And it was eight of them.   
Hayato had no place to live period, so he had to live with Tsuna. Takeshi was often alone at his home what with his father working two jobs and there being very little interaction with his father, he was lonely, so he too lived with Tsuna. Ryohei had no intention to crash at Tsuna's, but once he was fed, having trained in Tsuna’s backyard- ‘training’ Tsuna, Takeshi and annoyingly Hayato too - he would simply pass out and Tsuna didn’t have the heart to wake him and kick him out despite Hayato’s insistence for him to do so, hence Ryohei lived with him. Then there was Mukuro, Chrome, Chikusa, and Ken. Tsuna wasn’t sure what to make of the little group, while the latter two were more than happy to go back to sleeping in the run down amusement park, Tsuna was adamant that there was, quote, “NO way in HELL you are going back there, sit down and eat your dinner.” Much to the amusement of Mukuro, who enjoyed teasing the irate Hayato by flirting with or clinging to the brunette who had little to no romantic interest in the blue haired teen.  
So Tsuna decided, after much consideration and research that they needed to get an apartment together. Now, Tsuna knew this was going to confuse so many people, including his siblings and mother who had only just gotten used to Tsuna being back permanently and with so many other people living in the house. But twice already Tsuna had had to switch around the three bedrooms trying to get the people living with him to be peaceful.  
It was usually the case of I-pin and Chrome sleeping in I-pin’s small room, sometimes having Lambo stay too if he wasn’t sleeping with Tsuna. Then Mukuro and his two friends would stay in the study where Tsuna and Hayato used to sleep, and sometimes Takeshi would join them if they were feeling very charitable and amiable. That left Tsuna, Hayato, Ryohei (sometimes and usually Takeshi) Fuuta and Lambo to share what was originally Lambo’s and Fuuta’s shared room, usually with Lambo, Fuuta and Tsuna sharing a bed. It was fair to say that Tsuna’s house was crowded and more than once someone (Ryohei) ended up on the couch in the living room.  
Tsuna had thought about it since Takeshi arrived in his group, because even then his and Hayato’s room was crowded, but now it was needed. When he started seriously looking into, spurred on by Ryohei’s arrival, he knew what he would do. He would check his bank account.  
Tsuna owned two accounts, one was the account set up by Tsuna for his personal funds, those that he earned through work, or when his mother gave him more allowance than he needed- and wasn’t it just the strangest thing that every time his mother gave him allowance it was too much? This account was usually steady at eight hundred dollars and he often used it for his clothing or school supplies.  
The second account was set up by Tsuna’s father. Now, what it was for wasn’t really made explicit, it wasn’t a university fund- seeing as it was only a few months ago that Tsuna decided he might try university- but it certainly wasn’t an allowance fund either, because his mother said that the allowance she gave him and his siblings was from their father as well. The only thing that Tsuna knew was that every birthday, Christmas, or holiday that giving money could be made excusable for gifts his father put a non-descript amount of money into the account- and an account that each of his siblings had- and Tsuna never touched it. He never even looked in it.  
To say he was shocked when he did look into it was an understatement. The amount in the account was beyond anything Tsuna ever imagined, he didn’t even bother counting the zeros, or the excruciatingly large number before all the zeros, because he knew then that money was not an issue, was never going to be an issue. He was though determined to question his father when he returned home, because that amount of money begged the question as to why the hell his father was lying to his mother an him about his job.  
Though, Tsuna wasn’t really all that concerned with money anyway, even before looking into his father’s set up account for him, seeing as Hayato was more than willing to pay for some-if not a majority- of the rent an upkeep- quote “I’ve been living off of you and your mother for free for the past month and a half, I owe you more than you understand.”- and with Takeshi saying he had wanted to move into his own place for a while, not to mention Ryohei saying that the house he was living in was too expensive and too lonely anyway, Tsuna knew money was not going to be an issue.  
So when Tsuna looked into a house, only one street over, going up for rent he jumped into finding out the suitability and price of the house that would hopefully contain so many strangely different people and personalities.   
The house was two stories, had fifteen bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and an adequate, fully stocked study upstairs. It had a large kitchen and dining room, two living rooms downstairs, and a fair sized back yard. Outside it was a rather plain, off-white painted brick that he was sure was going to be painted over by more than one of the people who were going to live there, it had a well managed front yard and path, full of flowers and a rather large oak tree. The back yard was the same, it had a large tree and a small vegetable garden, and after learning more about Chrome, he knew she would love the opportunity to tend to something so delicate and beautiful. It was perfect really, close enough to the school and library to attend and study, and close enough to Tsuna’s home for his siblings to find him if they needed, and for Tsuna and his ‘housemates’ to go home for a good meal on the weekends while still being rather private. It was large enough for them to be comfortably apart and small enough to be comfortably close.  
The ‘apartment’ was an ex-university student accommodation building, but since the recent construction of on site accommodation, and accommodation being built closer to the university the house got little to no business, so the owners were looking to rent it out to just about anyone.  
So this was why Tsuna was sitting in the living room, comfortable with seeing the weaving, bright lines of string swirling and tying everyone together, that he discussed the issue at hand.  
“Well, I found somewhere for us to live.” He was point blank, letting everyone know what he was thinking. He didn’t expect the reactions though.  
“Kufufufu. Are you trying to get rid of us already Tsunayoshi-chan~?” Mukuro was sitting to Tsuna’s left, absentmindedly playing with the trident at his side. Tsuna still wasn’t sure why the illusionist used the strange weapon, or why when he looked at him he got the same feeling of danger that Hayato possessed.  
“Bastard! Don’t flirt with Tsuna.” Hayato exploded, he already knew Tsuna’s reasoning for moving, and in fact he had been the one to help Tsuna with the more delicate paperwork and sums. It was easy to see that Hayato thought moving was for the best, and his help was gladly accepted.  
“Hahah, Mukuro, I’m sure Tsuna didn’t mean it like that.” Ever the mediator Takeshi threw his arms over the spluttering Hayato and tried to calm the atmosphere that didn’t feel as angry as it looked.  
“It’s only one street over, it has a bedroom for each of us, and should be comfortable.” Here Tsuna put the various images and information into the coffee table, he picked up his mug- brewed for him by Hayato, and wasn’t it just to die for- while the others read the information and took in the cozy home in the fliers.  
“That’s an EXTREME choice Tsuna!” Ryohei was happy with the house; it was humble, small, and seemed well kept.   
“It’s only ten minutes from the hospital on foot Onii-san, so you can visit Kyoko whenever you want.” The boxer’s face softened then, a smile gracing his usually over exaggerated expressive face. Tsuna knew this was what he wanted, he knew that Ryohei would be very hurt if he was not there when and if something happened to his sister, and this house was closer than his old one.  
In the end, after much consideration, it was decided that later that day they would visit the building to check and see if it was as nice as the flyers said it was. For the time being, Ryohei and Takeshi were going to training, and Hayato was going to deal with some unfinished business he had. Tsuna turned to Mukuro and Chrome- the only ones left seeing as Chikusa and Ken were back in Kokuyo gathering the last of their few belongings- and Tsuna could honestly say he felt completely safe around the pair.  
Mukuro and Chrome were the only ones who knew about his power. They were neither shocked nor scared, assuring him that they would keep it a secret, help him with any others he found, and in the end stay with him. Their minds were connected closely now, and their consciousnesses blurred at the edges, Mukuro and Chrome could see the strain and tension in Tsuna’s mind as he worked to collect his fated friends and fixed his current friends, and Tsuna could see the strain and anger burning in their souls from their past.  
Mukuro and Chrome were also aware of something else, something deep and dark about Tsuna that they were not ready to tell him, or that they weren’t sure he was ready to hear. There was much about them that Tsuna did not understand. How they knew about him, how they had the power of illusions, why it was Mukuro was so insane sometimes, and why it was they were so very untrusting of Hayato.  
Tsuna knew just as little about Hayato, he knew there was something dangerous about the boy, his knowledge and depth of interest in explosives and firearms was enough to tell Tsuna to watch the boy, for his own safety and Hayato’s.   
Tsuna was not too worried about his lack of knowledge about the three teens. He knew that it would hurt when he found out, that it would change his life, because the strings of fate tying them were just that strong and thick that they couldn’t mean simply that he was to meet these people, their fates stemmed much deeper than that.  
As Tsuna made some drinks for the three of them he wondered about them. He knew for a fact that Chrome and Mukuro were not related, not from the way they moved around each other. It was as if they were one entity, and Tsuna had an idea that came from the vision he saw in that illusionary haze Mukuro put him under to protect him. For the longest of time they must have shared a mind and bodies, and Tsuna suspects that if they were separated for a long enough distance, the violet string weaving between them would split off into two separate entities, because in the end they were not born twins, they grew to be one soul, and he was sure that as they grew their separate fates would show, but in the end Tsuna was also sure that they would never truly be without one fate.  
As Tsuna went to sit down he was pulled between the twins (he only called them that because of their closeness and their faces, and they seemed to appreciate it so he wasn’t about to stop). Now usually he would insist on some personal space, he was not used to contact of any kind with people that weren’t his family, but he suspected his ease around Mukuro and Chrome came from whatever it was that happened in their minds. He wasn’t as freaked out as he probably should have been, but then again, he wasn’t freaked out by many of the things he probably should have been. Neither was he freaked out though, not that he thought about it, by the closeness of all the others.  
When he sat back, Chrome leaning on him just that slightest bit, and Mukuro shifting to be more encircling of both him and Chrome, Tsuna realised that he hadn’t once felt awkward around any of these new friends of his. When Hayato first arrived they had to share Tsuna’s bed for almost two weeks because they didn’t have a futon at the time, and he hadn’t once felt awkward or uncomfortable. When Takeshi arrived there was his overcompensating touchiness that Hayato immediately objected to, but that Tsuna felt completely dependent on. Then there was Ryohei, he was the first one to initiate contact with Ryohei, tacking him in a tight hug, and since then whenever Ryohei sat near him- nearer than most people who had just met would sit- he hadn’t once felt that uncomfortable awkwardness.   
He often questioned whether or not it was the strings that made it possible, if that feeling of comfort and trust stemmed from the thickness of their fates together, seeing as Tsuna had never had any other friends he felt that way with he had to assume that was the case.  
Of course, it wasn’t only Tsuna who had felt that strange gravitational pull towards each other, each and every one of the people Tsuna had very suddenly gathered to him felt that way. Some of them felt more gravitated to certain people, such as Takeshi to Hayato and Chrome to Ryohei, but they all felt a gut deep pull towards Tsuna, and if a day went by where they didn’t see him- as in the beginning it did for Ryohei and Takeshi- they felt something amiss with their day, as if something vital were missing from themselves.   
The feeling shook Hayato to his core, seeing as where he had come from- both family and socially- that kind of gravitation was dangerous, wrong even. Though, Hayato really could not bring himself to feel disgusted by it. He first thought it was because he owed Tsuna his health- if not his life- but at the same time he felt wrong thinking of it like that, something about the brunette just made him want to serve him and be near him. It sent his instinctive senses off, and his mind ground to a halt every time he thought about it, because it just wasn’t right, but it was just so right.  
Takeshi tried with every fiber of his being to ignore it, ignore the questioning in his mind, and ignore the strangeness of it. Ignore the fact that his body told him to watch out for betrayal, to put on a fake mask of indifference while his heart told him Tsuna would never, could never betray or hurt him, and that if he was hurt in this relationship it was his own god damned fault for not trusting Tsuna.  
Ryohei honestly took two seconds to think about it. He knew he wasn’t one for thinking things through, he was smart- he had to be given his dangerous occupation as a boxer- but he preferred to let instincts and tactics blend into something that was describable as neither. So when he felt the gravitation, he let his instincts take over, and naturally his tactful mind followed, when neither told him to run get away he knew it was right and left it at that.  
Now with Chrome and Mukuro it was very different, they had seen the workings of the brunette’s mind, had seen and heard his infant thoughts and memories- those stored from his conscious mind- and knew things about him that no one else did. He knew the same of them. For Mukuro, staying close was for revenge and tactful for his future ambitions, the gravitation to the brunette the unfortunate side affect of having blurred consciousnesses. For Chrome on the other hand it was survival. The brunette promised protection and warmth that she had only ever received from Mukuro. It was something sensational for her, and when their minds blurred she was overcome by that protective blanket, and she noticed immediately that the brunette had categorised her and Mukuro alike – as well as the other already and to be gathered- as friends, things that deserved his heart and soul. She knew if they asked he would lie on the ground and be killed to save them. There was something breathtaking about that, and something cruel, because Chrome knew as well as Mukuro did that one day someone would ask the brunette for that, and they would not joke about completing the deed.  
Soon enough the children arrived home, Tsuna soon had a lap full of laughing, giggling children and had a disgruntled Mukuro twitching at his side. I-pin gravitated to Chrome when she started getting squished under Fuuta’s less-than-bulk; it pleased Tsuna to see, because both girls needed more interaction.  
“Tsunayoshi, I think it’s time we go check out that house of yours.” Tsuna nodded with agreement before placing Lambo and Fuuta down. They pouted at first, but Tsuna’s mother soon had them entertained with baking cookies in the kitchen.  
Tsuna had called up the rest of the group before even Mukuro and Chrome had finished getting ready, and everyone met outside of Tsuna’s home equally as quickly. Tsuna wasn’t sure whether it was because he had called, or because they weren’t actually doing anything extremely important when he called, but he couldn’t describe the soul deep warmth that flowed in him when he was greeted by three smiling faces at his front gate.  
After the greetings and some snide remarks between Hayato and Mukuro they made their way towards the building they hoped would be theirs by the end of the week- sooner if Tsuna could help it.  
Their walk was calm, when you think about whose company Tsuna was in anyway, there was teasing, tormenting, laughter and sighs. Tsuna and Chrome stuck close together, sighing and laughing along with the others. Takeshi played mediator between Hayato and Mukuro and Ryohei bounced between the two groups. Tsuna had never felt warmer, and no matter how loud or boisterous his friends were, there was something about the way they moved and stood together that felt so right. When he caught sight of tight strings and solid knots, his mind was only put more at ease, because there was a thick, braided, chain-like string of orange starting to tie everyone together, and even if they were two-meters apart- supposedly outside of Tsuna’s sight range- though it was rarely the case, Tsuna could still see the amber string bright and strong.   
The house loomed over them, it was old looking, a little less cared-for than the fliers seemed to indicate, but Tsuna knew that with a couple hours over the weekend it would look completely like home. Then again, when he saw the awed look of Chrome, and the approving look in Mukuro- the two who had never really had a home- and the warmed looks in Takeshi and Ryohei’s eyes, Tsuna was determined to get the house no matter the cost.  
The three boys and girl went to the house and opened the door, quickly going inside. Tsuna and Hayato waited outside for a moment, they had arranged the viewing of the house so had seen some of the inside already.  
“Tsuna, can I ask you something?” Hayato’s voice was clam, and Tsuna heard the rustling of the box he kept in his back pocket. There was a long drag and a slow, even puff. The routine was calming, though Tsuna wished that calm didn’t come with a price.  
“What is it Hayato?”  
“Why are you doing all this for us? We’ve all only just met; we could all betray you in the end.” His words were harsh, but his tone sad, it hurt to even think that he would betray Tsuna, it hurt even more to think any of them would hurt the brunette. What hurt the most though was the haunted look in Tsuna’s eyes when he thought about the question. The haunted look that Hayato knew was created by Tsuna who believed that the betrayal was a very painful, real possibility. He kicked himself for asking the question, fully in the knowledge that it would hurt Tsuna in the end.  
Clutching his chest Tsuna answered. “I’ve been betrayed before, so it wouldn’t be anything new,” Tsuna breathed, and the expression tightened Hayato’s chest, he looked just so damn fragile. “but it feels so right to have you guys near me...” Tsuna paused in contemplation of how to continue. “I’m selfish Hayato. Incredibly selfish, and now that I have you, all of you, I don’t want to let you go, I’ll do anything to keep you by my side. Anything.”  
Tsuna turned his burning eyes to Hayato and he couldn’t help but feel that the brunette would keep his word, because they were so pure. With that said Tsuna walked into the house, unaware that everyone had been listening at the door and windows to his declaration and had sprinted back through the house when they broke from their haze and noticed the brunette walking into the house. But something had changed in each of them, because they all had been questioning the brunette’s motives, and each of them was spurred on by Tsuna’s words, knowing full well he meant them and that they’d protect those words.  
Hayato had noticed something about Tsuna, about his mannerisms and actions –the others had too, but Hayato didn’t know that- it often looked like he knew things before anyone else, as if something was whispered into his ears to tell him where and how to stand. Tsuna seemed able to avoid little things, little accidents, and it was something so surreal. But there were other things, Tsuna seemed to clutch his heart all the time, or his hands would mindlessly play with the air- hell, Hayato was sure he saw something in Tsuna’s hands from time to time. Initially Hayato panicked, sure the brunette had a heart condition, but after long talks with Tsuna’s mother he was assured that it was a nervous habit Tsuna had from childhood, and it just peaked Hayato’s interest, because there was just something in the movement that hinted at a memory of lessons from Hayato's father.   
Hayato smirked, because this boy was just so damn interesting, but he knew, deep down where his instincts were, where his dangerous side lurked, that he would not let that declaration be one-sided, he would protect Tsuna. With his life, with his soul, and if Tsuna wanted to protect every bastard that was currently within his grasp, well then Hayato would just have to protect them too.  
Once he had entered the house he was greeted by an amusing sight. Ryohei had made himself comfortable on the couch, his arms and legs spread wide, lazy but alert. Chrome had obviously found the backyard and was babbling happily to the sunny boy about everything she could do to make the garden grow big and healthy, she sounded so excited that it made Hayato frown. Mukuro and Takeshi however were the real treats and soon brought a smirk of a smile back on to the smoker’s lips.  
Tsuna had obviously gotten too close to the pineapple-haired teen and had ended up in his possessive embrace- and automatically Hayato’s blood pressure rose- and Takeshi was obviously being the mediator and trying to pry Tsuna out of the bluenette’s embrace. Wasn’t it just so amusing to Hayato, because he knew how possessive the baseball star was over Tsuna, and this new addition to their little family made the base-ball freak explode with possessive instincts that obviously didn’t crop up often and that he didn’t know how to control.  
“OI! Pineapple-bastard! Let go of Tsuna!” from there a whole new round of arguments, Kufufufufufs and Maa Maas erupted. It was a happy scene, and though it didn’t cease, it did quieten as a new sound entered the air, one that everyone was so absorbed in that they kept fighting just to keep the sound going.  
Tsuna’s laughter was bright and open, pure and simple, it wasn’t beautiful or handsome, but it was amazing. It lifted their hearts, but also gave Tsuna a more mature air, it was deeper than his speaking voice, and a little sadder too. Everyone determined then to make the brunette in his late teens laugh more. But not just for anyone else, only for them.  
“Should I call the landlord and tell him we’ll take it?” everyone could hear the tears in his voice, but the laughter bubbled through every word and made all the teens in the room giddy. Their nods were erratic and Tsuna knew that he was making all the right decisions.  
It was on their way home that Tsuna paused suddenly. Something tight and painful shot across his chest. It was violent, painful, and something Tsuna felt immediately concerned about. Mukuro and Chrome gave him twin looks of concern, because on the edges of their consciousnesses they felt the pulling. Though, neither could really feel the pain as it was not theirs, and despite the closeness of their consciousness, Tsuna’s protective drive did not allow feelings to transfer across the bridge they shared.  
Knowing which string it was that caused the pain Tsuna shook his head and continued home, he’d deal with everything in the evening, when he knew this string’s owner would be out on the prowl.

XXX

When the evening fell, Takeshi, Ryohei and even Hayato practically collapsing into their respective beds after dinner, Tsuna made his move to leave. Something heavy pressed on his chest when he thought about being without his friends, but the strings glowed happily and lit his way in the dark, metaphorically and literally.  
Mukuro and Chrome met him in the front gates; Chrome was visibly shaken, having felt the tug all day long in the edge of her consciousness where both Mukuro and Tsuna shielded her from the cruelties of their world. Mukuro was contemplative, he felt the violence in the string, and though sheltered he felt the dull throb in his gut that mirrored what Tsuna must have been feeling. It was uncomfortable, and Mukuro know that what Tsuna must be feeling was much, much worse.  
“Kufufufufu, it seems you have a rather violent one here Tsunayoshi.” Mukuro’s voice was smooth like lacquer, and Tsuna relaxed instantly. A veil fell on him, cooling his skin, like misted water. Mukuro grabbed the Purple string, tugging it with enough force to make it freeze and Tsuna gasp.  
The pressure was there now, but the string lip up like the emergency lights in an aircraft, guiding the way to its owner, beckoning Tsuna and his companions to find him; daring them to get closer.  
“How did you do that?” Tsuna was awed, because he could only ever see to two-meters, but now the string glowed with a harsh brightness and Tsuna could see it all the way down the street.  
“Kufufufuf. Just one of the tricks I learned in that retched family of mine Tsunayoshi.” With that and a flash of pain Mukuro walked in the direction the string led, leaving Chrome and Tsuna to look on sadly at his retreating back.  
Though, Chrome’s eyes quickly diverted to the strings. She was not as strong as Mukuro or Tsuna, her powers were weaker, slowly growing since her physical separation form Mukuro during their escape from the horrible, bloodied facility, so she didn’t often see the strings like Mukuro did, and certainly not to this clarity.  
It was amazing, Chrome realised quickly, and she ran her fingers along each one, knowing instinctively from the feel and aura and colour who it belonged to. She mouthed the names softly, and didn’t catch the smile on Tsuna’s face when he heard the names given a precious tone.  
When she hit the orange string, the one that was not on its own but made up a part of all the others, Tsuna froze. Chrome looked up with surprise, because she felt the flinch in the orange string. Immediately though she realised why the brunette had froze, it was his string. So trying her best, using her powers and her heart she bled thanks and love into the string, she owed Tsuna so much, and she would never harm him, never take advantage of him by harming the orange string tying them all together.  
“Shall we go find Mukuro before he destroys the owner?” Tsuna’s voice was full of appreciation, and Chrome knew she had done something right. She smiled shyly and grabbed the Purple string, immediately she froze and tears welled in her eyes.  
Tsuna panicked, unsure of why the precious girl would cry and somewhere deep down he was afraid that he had made her cry and that Mukuro would kill him. But soon enough she let go of the purple string and retracted her hand. “It’s so lonely.”  
Tsuna knew then, she had felt everything that string meant, a lonely fate broken by Tsuna once the connection was made. He smiled and took her hand, running after Mukuro who had disappeared around the corner.  
“Not for long though Chrome. Not for long.”

XXXX

Tsuna was distressed when he started heading towards the school. Something in the back of his mind brought a memory to the surface, and he wondered as the memory flashed and they approached a smirking, practically cackling Mukuro, if his memory was giving him advanced warning of who it was this new member of his ‘family’ was going to be.

It had been Tsuna’s first day at school; he had been calm, and rather cynical about the entire ordeal, because he had been through such hell in all his other school years that he wasn’t going to stand for shit this time.  
Once introductions were over they were sent to explore the school with only a warning not to ‘disturb the peace of Namimori High’ and Tsuna took the warning in his stride, knowing that discipline as well as sports were prided in the school.  
It wasn’t long until he found himself in the back of the school and resting in the roots of a Sakura tree, the smells were soft, and the petals drifted smoothly through the air. Though, the peace didn’t last long, the movement in the air to his immediate right caused the strings wrapping his body to sway violently, and it was all the warning he needed to be up, in a stance and defensive.  
Of course, he wasn’t expecting the smack of something hitting the bark of the tree followed by a grunt of pain. When his eyes focused on the boys, one of which was cradling his fist, Tsuna rolled his eyes. They were bullies, and weak ones at that.  
“Oh, looks like little Dame-Tsuna was lucky.” Tsuna growled at the nickname, he didn’t deserve it, he was smarter than these boys, but because he didn’t flaunt his intelligence, or the strength taught into him by his wayward father and self-taught self-defence, these children thought it entertaining to try and knock his self-confidence. Didn’t work of course, but Tsuna let them think it did.  
“And what if it wasn’t?” Tsuna asked, he stood tall, letting his form relax into that powerful relaxation that made all the bullies take a second look at the lithe form hidden behind slacks and a dress shirt.  
“As if.” The smallest of the three scoffed. With that they attacked, their fists sloppy, their movements wide and unnecessary. Tsuna sighed internally. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t wish to see his ‘Onii-san’ again, because it meant that he would get a decent fight out.  
Still, the scuffle lasted for more than a few moments. The strings would drift and knot when the bullies moved- or thought to move- and Tsuna read the strings as if they were words and not rope. After so many years reading them- sixteen years at the time- they told him everything he needed to know, and even if he hadn’t taught himself a few fighting techniques, he could have beaten such low calibre opponents with just the strings alone.  
“You’re disturbing the peace with your herbivorous behaviour.” Something practically kicked Tsuna in the gut when he heard those words, the strings on his chest- or the Purple one in particular- kicked and fought for release, of course, it didn’t happen, and instead only led Tsuna to grimace outwardly.  
“It’s not my behaviour that ‘herbivorous’ it’s your problem if your students can’t accept they are weak and try to pick fights they cannot win.” Tsuna put his hands in his pockets, having dropped the bully leader in a pile of broken ego. He stared the black-haired teen in the eyes, challenging, probing, and seeing where his boundaries lied.  
This boy-man was not someone Tsuna wanted to fight so soon, he would need all his knowledge the strings, and to fight comfortably more fighting experience, though he loathed to admit that he had to fight. He always was a pacifist- at least in his early years- now he fought for self-preservation and the protection of his family.  
“Hmmm, what an interesting herbivore.” The black haired boy exclaimed softly. Tsuna was taken aback, but when the boy approached, obviously going for the actual delinquents, something snapped.  
Both snapped their heads so that their eyes met, and Tsuna felt it before the skylark did. There was the tension, then the knotting, and finally and click and the scent of books wafting through the air. What was mixed in was indefinable though, because it seemed, beyond all shadow of a doubt despite how unlikely it seemed, that both boys had initiated the string, both accepting each other.  
Tsuna gasped, and the boy sneered, because despite everything both knew something irreversible had just happened.  
“What’s your name herbivore?” The black haired prefect stood, hands itching for the weapons he had yet to use.  
“Isn’t it polite to state your own name first?” the man simply lifted an eyebrow, surprised that the boy would speak back to him. With a sigh Tsuna continued, knowing he would get no response from the boy. “I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, but I’d much prefer you to call me Tsuna.”  
“I am Hibari Kyouya. I’ll be watching you, you’re interesting omnivore.”  
With that smirk of amusement and a flick of his wrist to signal that he accepted- somewhat- Tsuna he was gone, and the disciplinary committee was left cleaning up the mess Tsuna unwittingly caused.

Tsuna hadn’t seen Kyouya since then, but he had heard of his power sweeping through the school, and throughout the entirety of Namimori. Maybe it was fate – Tsuna almost slapped himself for thinking something so ironically stupid- or maybe it was just a coincidence. Though, when Tsuna saw who it was that Mukuro was fighting against, tonfas vs trident, Tsuna thought fate had dry, predictable sense of humour.  
Tsuna took action immediately, with a flick of his wrist both strings- indigo for Mukuro and Purple for Kyouya- were wrapped around their respective owners and said owners were stunned into a pause.  
He got in between them looking meaningfully at each, trying to gauge just how pliable they were to his will. Mukuro laughed insanely and backed off, wanting to watch the full scale of the show before him, Kyouya on the other hand, he was not so pliable.  
The attack was quick, and even the strings didn’t give Tsuna enough warning to completely guard against the blow of steel. The reeled back, using the momentum and energy in the blow to send him flipping backwards, only to land in front of Mukuro and be charged again.  
Blow for blow they fought, Tsuna not sure what was happening or why, he was aware of the Indigo string connecting him to Mukuro and Chrome tighten and ripple in displeasure, and if he weren’t fighting off painful blows he would have been humbled by the fact the two illusionists felt so protective of him.  
It took half an hour for the blows to stop, and when Tsuna finally rested he was black and blue in places and breathing heavily. Both boys though- to Tsuna’s pleasure- were covered in sweat, and Kyouya even looked pleased with the fight.  
“You are an interesting one Tsunayoshi. I do expect you back here tomorrow for another fight.” With that, and another cocky flick of the hand he was gone, sprinting off to God-knows-where.  
Flopping down onto the ground Tsuna tried to catch his breath while Chrome looked on worriedly and Mukuro looked distracted.  
“Seems the little skylark is a little impatient.” Mukuro sighed, though, Tsuna wasn’t entirely sure he was supposed to hear the comment. What was evident was that Mukuro was interested in the violent boy, and there were probably a few reasons for threat, and there were probably a few reasons that Tsuna would never understand.  
They went home then, Tsuna sore, tired, and wanting nothing more than to collapse in his bed and sleep for the next two weeks. Of course that wasn’t the case, because the three arrived home to three practically hysterical teenage boys who had noticed Tsuna’s disappearance and feared the worst. Hayato almost fainted when he saw Tsuna littered with bruises, and it took Tsuna well into the next morning to explain and reassure everyone that he was fine.  
It was through the next two weeks that Tsuna met with Kyouya in the night. Sometimes Mukuro and Chrome would appear, other times his other friends would demand to come. They never got involved of course, because there was something about the way Tsuna and Kyouya fought that was strictly private. That didn’t mean that Hayato and Takeshi weren’t worried and angered by this arrogant fool’s treatment of their friend, jus that they accepted it needed to be done and that Tsuna seemed somewhat relived- if not ‘sore to the EXTREME’ in Ryohei’s words- by the end of a spar with the onyx haired prefect.  
During the two weeks Hayato, Takeshi and Ryohei had a hand in treating, and training Tsuna, determined to get their friend to win at least once against the monster that was Hibari Kyouya.  
“I don’t understand it Tsuna. Why are you doing this for him?” it was Takeshi's turn to treat Tsuna’s newest bruises, and seeing as they were somewhere Tsuna couldn’t reach he had to yield and take the affection and worry in his stride.  
“It’s the same reason I saved you, the same reason I let Hayato smoke despite how much it worries me, why I visit Kyoko with Ryohei all the time, and why I let Mukuro and Chrome be so close and possessive over me, you all need it and it feels right.” Takeshi shut his mouth then, but determined that he would get strong for Tsuna; because this kind of attitude was the kind that would get him into all kinds of trouble he may or may not be able to get out of on his own.  
They were meeting for what seemed like the thousandth time, clashing and fighting, and Tsuna just couldn’t get the upper hand. He was getting better, infinitely so, and somewhere he suspected that this was Hibari’s goal all along, but something clicked in his mind, and immediately his eyes flicked down to his chest.  
All along, every battle, though only now did it make sense to Tsuna, the orange string that stemmed from Tsuna’s being slowly encroached onto the purple string left bare of any sign of possession and connection. Now though, slowly before, and suddenly now, the orange string was wrapped around Kyouya’s chest too, signalling that their fates were connected in the same way Tsuna’s fate was connected with every other person around him, watching the fight.  
When Tsuna landed again, signaling the end of the brawl, close enough to Hayato to make the boy step forward, Tsuna realised that the black-haired man before him was way more than met the eye.  
He had been challenging Tsuna, paving the way for this bond to happen, he was aware of his own inability to be friendly, to have a connection that wasn’t through this physical confrontation. He knew it and used it against Tsuna to make this entire thing with the strings possible. The way he moved, the glide in his step, he was aware that he was tethered, so much more so than Hayato or Takeshi, and maybe as aware as Chrome and Mukuro. He was aware of the tether and his own nature to such an extent that Tsuna had been used. Tsuna was aware then that Kyouya probably couldn’t see the strings, but something told him he could feel them.  
“Kyouya, would you like to live with us?” there was something about Kyouya, and it wasn’t just the violently tight Purple string wrapping Tsuna’s midsection. Something that told him to be forward, take the attacks, absorb the blows, and be the connection the boy needed with a family.  
“I will never crowd with you and your herbivores.” Kyouya’s voice was harsh and brash, the automated response feeling heavy in his throat, as if it choked his body to tell the brunette before him.  
“No one said you’d have to crowd Kyouya, but we have a spare room, and you’re welcome whenever you need a place to sleep where you’re not obligated to stay, but are entitled to someone to talk to and some company.” With those words Tsuna turned on his heel, back towards their old home where a lot of their stuff still lived.  
While Kyouya watched the herbivore/omnivore/carnivore walk away from their place of confrontation, immediately gathering his herd to his side, Kyouya wondered to himself exactly how he had let himself mingle and become one of these herd members. He didn’t consciously make the decision, certainly not him.   
There was something though, something coursing through his blood and brain that made him stay close, be near the brunette, watching, mindful, as if he were a lookout for the herd he ruled. He did not kid himself though, the herbivore could shield his fangs well, and Kyouya knew he was not the one who ruled this pride, no, Kyouya was not the king, and he was determined to find out how that came to pass.   
If he had to stay near this pride of beasts- for they were beasts in their own individual rights- then so be it, he would stay, would be that lookout, but he would be the most carnivorous, the purely carnivorous one in this pride.   
Though, a part of him, his most violent and dominant practically raged, he was always to be king, always to be the alpha, he raged and roared at being tethered, he felt it, felt the pull, the cage, and felt a need for the tether. Sometimes Kyouya felt like he would float away, and the warmth that tether promised, that place to call home and not have to stay, it sated the beast within him and made him bow, if only minutely.  
He would wonder later of course, when they had aged and grown why he felt that need to be carnivorous, and why it was that need formed solely to protect the king of their pride.


	7. When emotions dictate fate

Tsuna felt sick to his stomach. He felt imbalanced, distant, and just plain sick.   
It wasn’t a type of physical and real sickness, not a cold or a fever despite Hayato’s insistence that he needed to see a doctor or his mother at least. It was more of a metaphoric illness that plagued Tsuna.  
He woke with the feeling, clinging and stroking his insides and his chest. He lay in the living room, listening to the sounds of laughter in the kitchen, the sound of little feet on the stairs, and the soft, earthy breathing next to him.  
Hayato was cooking in the kitchen with Takeshi's help. Lambo had decided to visit them since Fuuta and I-pin were busy with school projects, and Chrome was tending to Tsuna’s needs, and her school work in the living room leaning against the couch that Tsuna napped on. Ryohei and Hibari were probably sparring outside. Either that or at the school doing their respective jobs. Mukuro, as Tsuna found out quickly, enjoyed his room and tended to sleep long hours and do his own thing within the safe walls where few else were allowed to enter.  
Three days in their own house told Tsuna a lot, and as he laid on the couch, nursing this metaphoric lameness in his health, he mulled over the changes and the personality features of each person living within the house he now happily called a home.  
Each of the occupants took no time to decorate and personalise their rooms once the house was officially theirs, and even the living rooms and kitchen did not get saved. Tsuna had seen all the rooms, he felt pride in the fact that he was the only one to have seen all of them and that he had been invited, in many different ways to view them. He was also extremely pleased that within the three days everyone had found their own reasons to visit and spend time in his own room with him.  
Hayato and Takeshi had dragged him to their rooms; they were on either side of Tsuna’s room in the center of the landing. Hayato’s was clean, neat and precise, the walls were red and black, the curtains were also red with dark grey borders on the top, they were open and flooded the room with light from the floor-ceiling window. He had two large desks on either side of his rather small bed, one was covered in books Tsuna recognised from school, and the other was covered in schematics, plans, and something Hayato called ‘G-writings’. As with the other rooms the ceilings were white and the carpeting a warm brown. Next was Takeshi's room. It was painted a few different shades of blue, the top was the darkest and slowly it grew lighter in colour towards the floor. He had one desk and one a two sided wardrobe with only one door. Standing upright in the closet were various baseball bats and equipment. Hanging on the wall above his bed was the sword his father had given him as a home warming present, one his ancestors used to protect themselves. One Takeshi had privately promised to learn to wield. The room was cluttered but not too messy.  
Later in the evening, when Tsuna was in the living room making a snack for everyone, Chrome had strolled in her arms were full of laundry and Tsuna could see she was obviously struggling, he ended up helping her and in the process saw her room. It was on the opposite side of the house towards the back, closer to Tsuna’s room then anyone else’s, there she, Mukuro, Ken and Chikusa shared and area.   
Her room was neat and indigo, a light shade with white skirting and white curtains. Around the room were drawings and pictures of flowers, on her windowsill were potted plants, and an aloe plant sat on the coffee table in the corner. She had a small, dark indigo bed with white pillows and a stuffed owl sitting neatly to the side. It was very peaceful. He had seen Mukuro’s room when Chrome had asked him deliver something to Mukuro, of course he obliged and crossed the hall into Mukuro’s mirrored room. His room was darker; he had two black couches in one corner with a low, brown coffee table between them, a low bed with light indigo sheets, and a small desk. He had a dresser and a steamer trunk at the foot of his bed. It was warm in the room, shaded by the black blinds, and a darker shade of indigo stood on the walls than in Chrome’s room. Mukuro welcomed him warmly and they shared a mug of coffee as they spoke of stupid things that they had discussed in the dream plain the night before.  
He also saw Ken and Chikusa’s room; they had taken the rooms to the very back of the house, behind Mukuro and Chrome’s rooms. They were four rooms that had been knocked through intended to be rooms shared between two people. Since they were originally small single rooms, once the landlord had knocked them through to be shared rooms they equalled everyone else’s single rooms, Ken and Chikusa took one each on either side of the hallway. They had them painted a light brown and green, and Tsuna thought it suited them but didn’t loiter; he knew the two boys needed their space.  
Ryohei, upon completion of his decoration, had barged into Tsuna’s room grabbed the surprised teen’s hand and showed him the ‘EXTREME’ room. It was bright, yellow and open with a corner dedicated simply to boxing. There were framed pictured on his night stand of his sister, and of the others. Tsuna had a picture of the whole group taken the first day they ‘owned’ the house, and each person living on the estate had a copy of the image. The window was wide and open, brightness and warmth flooded the room and Tsuna felt at home. He had spent the rest of the day in the corner opposite the boxing corner in a beanbag chair watching Ryohei train as he ate cookies and drank good coffee.  
Hibari was a completely different story though. He took the two knocked through rooms to the far right of the house; his room was close to Takeshi's and was the furthest from everyone else. Tsuna had been making everyone warm drinks when he had knocked on Hibari’s door. When the ‘skylark’ as dubbed by Mukuro opened the solid wood door he didn’t scowl. His face was soft and emotionless, but his eyes were softer then when they fought days earlier. Hibari had promptly claimed the room stating that ‘if any of you enter uninvited Kami Korosu’. He didn’t tend to stay in the house all day, spending a majority of his time instead at the school or around Namimori, but every evening Tsuna was guaranteed to see him and make him a mug of either Chai or Green tea, and the occasional oolong.  
“What do you want omnivore?” was his greeting that first evening.  
“I just wanted to offer you a drink. I’m making tea and coffee for everyone, is there something you’d like?” Tsuna’s voice was soft and soothing, and Hibari found that it wasn’t so harsh and unpleasant as he was lead to believe through rumours and distant interactions.  
“Green, or Chai if you have it.” With that the door had closed.  
When Tsuna had reappeared ten minutes later with a tray and two mugs of Chai tea Hibari had invited him into his room where they sat in opposite armchairs in front of a small coffee table in the center of the room. Soft music played behind them, and Tsuna found himself relaxing into the warm, dim room. The walls were a pleasant purple wallpaper with silver clouds pressed into the material. His bed was large with silver covers and tall black posts. It suited the skylark Tsuna decided.  
From then a kind of routine developed. Every evening when Tsuna made tea or coffee he would make two cups of either Oolong or Chai, and occasionally Green before delivering everyone else’s with quick conversations and good nights and spending a few hours- sometimes more- in amiable silence with Hibari. They chatted sometimes, about school or work, about fighting and about future plans, but most of the time found both of them reading a book from the vast study in the attic of the home.  
What Tsuna had found most interesting throughout the entire three days was that in everyone’s room there were red strings splayed in the air. You see, Tsuna had never seen it before, but people’s red strings were attached to items. It was amazing really, how an item could dictate fate, but the tight, knotted, sometimes frayed strings were evidence enough for Tsuna that items played as much of a role as people did.  
For Hayato it was a tattered, folded paper plane that rested beside the ‘family photo’.  
For Takeshi it was the family sword that rested preciously on the wall above his bed.  
For Ryohei a tattered, useless set of small boxing gloves that sat in the corner of the room.  
Mukuro and Chrome had strings wrapped infinitely around their tridents.  
Lambo- Tsuna noticed later- had red string wrapped around a pink ball Tsuna had given him and he liked to throw at people. His aim was surprisingly good.  
For Hibari, a red string wrapped around the handle of each Tonfu, and around the leg of his little canary, Hibird.  
It was amazing really. Because who would have ever thought that an item could hold so much of a person’s fate. Tsuna wished, imagined, and dreamed of what each item could mean and the story they could tell; he wondered and prayed that they dictated happy fate and protection, and smiled at the love and care each person gave the item even though they had no idea the physical attachment they had for them.  
As Tsuna’s chest gave another kick, he stood to check the kitchen. Tsuna had a good idea why he felt so unbalanced; he had started feeling ill when the number of strings his string bound outweighed the number of strings he had yet to bind. Now with only one string left, his body felt as if it were rejecting the string, that, or his body was driving him to bind it and make it ‘his’. It felt awful though, because he felt heavy and subdued and he still had no idea who the owner was.  
He entered the kitchen to the whole, warm smell of chicken soup, rice and coffee. He was told the world over that he had strange tastes. But really, when Hayato and Takeshi got together- they often made dinner even when they all lived at Nana’s house- anything smelt good together. Both were exceptional cooks though each excelled at different cuisines; Hayato Italian tomato dishes, Takeshi Japanese rice and soup dishes.  
“Tsuna. Are you feeling better?” Hayato asked. His voice was smooth, the accent feeling wonderful against Tsuna’s ears.   
“Much, especially when I get greeted by such a wonderful smell. What’s for lunch?” Tsuna’s tone was soft and tired; everyone picked up on it right away, even Lambo. “Whose turn is it to choose dinner?”  
Speaking of, the young child walked into the room and headed straight for Tsuna, soon enough he was up and in Tsuna’s arms, tired and content with the warmth of his brother.  
“Maa maa Tsuna, you shouldn’t compliment us too much!” Takeshi laughed and Hayato fought to keep the large, warm smile off his own face. “You’ll make us big headed!”  
“Shut up Yakyu-Baka!” Hayato’s voice still didn’t hold that anger that his words told it should. A smile flicked his lips up and Tsuna loved it. “Chicken soup and rice today Tsuna. It’s those stupid illusion twins’ turn to choose dinner.”  
Tsuna had to smile, everyone knew now that the ‘twins’ -as they were affectionately dubbed by everyone- could produce and maintain high-level illusions, they used them many times during their stay with Tsuna’s mother, and Tsuna found it ever entertaining that Hayato continued to fall for them and he was never the victim of them.  
“Well, I suppose we’re in for quite the meal then huh?” Tsuna rocked Lambo slightly, though he was seven he was clingy, light, and loved to sleep on Tsuna. And despite his mother’s protests, Tsuna let Lambo nap on him whenever he felt the need for it.  
The green string wrapping around Lambo flashed brightly, and the red string wrapped around his waist tightened. Over the past few days Tsuna had noticed the red string becoming fainter and the green string becoming more prominent and bright. It was rather foreboding to Tsuna. He wasn’t sure whether that was because he had moved out more permanently now- though he saw the children more now than before he moved to this house and neither I-pin nor Fuuta’s strings were dulling- or whether it was because of something else. All he knew was that Lambo’s fate was changing to being dictated by the coloured string, and that told Tsuna everything he needed to know. Something was coming fast.  
Resting against the dining table Tsuna watches the teens cook and eventually calls everyone down to lunch. They had plans to go out shopping that afternoon. Some of the residence would join them later, such as Hayato, Mukuro, Chrome, Ken and Chikusa, and Ryohei. It was going to be a trip for Takeshi, Hibari, Lambo and Tsuna. It was looking to be a pleasant trip, given that everyone in their rag-tag group got along surprisingly easily.  
They left quickly, throwing a jacket on Lambo and sliding their shoes onto their own feet. But soon enough they were out and shopping. Food was a top priority; they needed food to feed all the people in the house, not to mention the children who were suddenly interested in living with Tsuna once again.  
They walked well, slowly with laughter on Takeshi and Lambo’s lips, and a contemplative smirk of silence on Kyouya’s, it was beautiful really, especially when Tsuna’s eyes caught the strings. What amazed him was the fact that already a green string shot from Lambo to the other two boys, it wasn’t as intimate or strong as the one he shared with Tsuna, but it was there. The same thing was occurring between Kyouya and Takeshi; thin, bright strings were beginning to weave them together. And the orange, Tsuna was tempted not to believe it, but his string, the bright, burning orange that lit his soul with a deep warmth was tying them together in a large circle, and if he looked to his right- from where they came- he saw the orange diving into the air, connecting him with the others even when he couldn’t see their strings anymore.  
“Tsuna-nii! Can Lambo-sama have some candy?” Lambo was currently holding Tsuna’s hand as Takeshi and Kyouya carried their grocery shopping.  
“Yes Lambo, later and if you’re good.”  
As they walked around the grocery store Tsuna was sure someone was following them watching as they walked and chose the foods for the week. It was in the vegetable section, Tsuna was choosing some fruit and Takeshi and Kyouya were choosing other vegetables. The feeling prickled his neck, like light fingers tightening around his throat. He turned on a dime, eyes narrowed and fist ready. Though, when he turned he was only met with a surprised Takeshi.  
“Is everything alright Tsuna?” Takeshi looked around quickly, not sure what to make of the aggravated boy.  
“Everything’s fine Takeshi. Just a strange feeling I had.” With that they exited and paid. Lambo had his candy and Takeshi was slurping at a sports drink. Kyouya was sipping at a large coffee.  
They all laughed together, and as they walked, Takeshi and Kyouya naturally walked to be protection to Tsuna and Lambo. It was so natural that Tsuna only questioned it later in life when someone in his family mentioned the strangeness of his group of friends. But it was natural, and Takeshi ruffled Lambo’s hair and Kyouya smiled softly, and Tsuna couldn’t have felt more at ease.  
It was sharp, sudden, and made that eerie someone-is-watching-you feeling make sense. The string yanked violently; tightening to the point that Tsuna was sure he would bleed. He knew then that the owner had allowed his emotions to flicker outwardly suddenly. Something had surprised the owner.  
His eyes shot around immediately, trying with all his might to search out the owner, trying to follow the string. He couldn’t see it though, the string shot two meters then faded away, and Tsuna had the frustration to scowl and look upset. Takeshi caught onto his movement; his eyes scanned the area trying to see what Tsuna saw. Of course, it was Kyouya who found the culprit. He had felt the presence following them since the early morning. He hadn’t seen the culprit in such a physical sense, but his aura was dire and was there. He was surprised Takeshi hadn’t caught onto it, and was even more surprised that Tsuna had caught onto it. Though, Kyouya supposed, there was that tightness that told him something was different about the brunette, something interesting, something that needed protecting.  
Suddenly Tsuna moved, he grabbed Takeshi's hand and Lambo’s. As he moved he pulled them both away from the spots they were standing, and to Kyouya’s horror something sharp and dangerous slammed into the ground in exactly the spot where Tsuna had just been standing.  
He was in a stance immediately, his tonfu were out, covered in red string and sweaty, callous hands, and he was in front of the little group. Nothing else came, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. He sent Hibird around and when the little canary came back he had nothing to say.  
Hibari scowled and looked to Tsuna who was staring with narrowed eyes and folded eyebrows at the floor where the object had seemingly buried itself into the ground so it would not be seen or found. His chest had tightened when he had spotted the shape, and it was only a sudden flare and pressure from the strings wrapping his chest that had him move in the first place, telling him where to move and when. He didn’t like where this was going, because this was dangerous.  
“I think we should meet up with the others, Tsuna.” Takeshi was tensed; he didn’t know what had happened; only that someone had just threatened Tsuna.  
“Ah, for once herbivore, I think you’re right. Let us go, Tsunayoshi, Lambo.” With that the four took off to the cafe where they had arranged to meet everyone.  
When Mukuro and his ‘family’ and Hayato arrive Tsuna notices a tension in their step and backs. They know something is coming, Tsuna can read it in the lines of Mukuro’s eyebrows and the frown upon Chrome’s delicate face. He knows as well however, that none of the teens will tell him what is wrong, for his own safety more than anything.  
The others gathered together and spoke of happy things. Takeshi lost his fear as soon as the others joined their little group, but Kyouya stayed behind to speak with Mukuro, Chrome, and Hayato.  
“Are you okay?” Tsuna asked Mukuro, he was shaken up; his trident was in his hands, white knuckles tensing and releasing, fidgeting in an uncharacteristic way.  
“Yes, Tsunayoshi. We had a visitor same as you.” Mukuro’s voice was tense, but there was that relief too, knowing that he and Tsuna were once again, in whatever this was together.  
“Pineapple-herbivore. What do you mean?” Kyouya still had his tonfu out, unwilling to stash them when tensions and danger was still so high.  
“Kyouya, we were attacked the same as you... only...” his pause sparked Tsuna’s interest, especially since it made little sense.  
“Only... what?”  
“I didn’t seem like an attack.” Chrome’s voice was soft and gentle, confused and questioning. “If they were attacking us they would have injured us, we’re all still fine.”  
And it made sense, because an attack would leave injury, or more fear, a warning. What they had was a test, was trying to see their reactions. Tsuna didn’t understand it, but apparently Hayato and Mukuro and Chrome did, and they weren’t saying anything yet.  
Tsuna sighed and looked to the sky, it was clear but promised a storm and winds in the future, it was the dangerous sky that Tsuna had become used to and comforted by. Probably because his life was becoming a vast and dangerous storm.  
“We won’t panic the others. Just act natural. We’ll figure this out soon.”  
With that they rejoined the others and started walking to the park where the children enjoyed playing and where they could relax for a while before heading back for dinner.

XXXXX

Bullets penetrated the ground before them, dust flew and the dimness of the evening seemed so much brighter, the sun exploding above their heads in a fury of red and yellows. It was a truly nameless colour, so much of everything. Their steps halted as everyone stood stalk still. Bullets. Bullets. All their minds focused on the ground and the bullets mere centimetres from their toes.  
“Ciaossu. I am Reborn.” A voice greeted them from the tree line to their right. It was dangerous and things happened in juxtaposing fashion.  
A man appears before everyone. He is tall, lithe and dangerous. The air becomes clogged with danger and fear. No one moves for a moment, assessing the man in the expensive suit with the black and orange fedora before moving to make a loose, but ever so tight wall around Tsuna.  
Lambo is pushed into his back, arms wrap his legs and he knows that the child can sense the danger and is being quiet out of fear and the feeling of safety he gets from Tsuna. Chrome finds his side and stays there, Mukuro and his family gather around the same side, tense and alert, Tsuna realises that this is what they had been waiting for. Hayato and Takeshi take the stand in front of him, he has direct sight of the stranger through their barely touching shoulders, but their stances are tight enough to cover the rest of his body. Ryohei stands behind them and beside Lambo, trying to calm and reassure the boy that everything is safe. Kyouya stands beside Ryohei, closer than usual, close to Tsuna and ready to pounce in front of Takeshi should the need arise. Had he not felt threatened and in danger Tsuna would have felt so safe and warm in the group. But the man left no room for comfort, because he just radiated death and ability.  
The strings tensed around Tsuna, the air stagnant with the smell of strengthening bonds, Tsuna knew that all the strings he had promised protection to did not like this intruder, and intruder who shared their fate; the one with the colourless string. The last one Tsuna needed to find.  
“Tsuna is going to be Vongola Decimo by order of Nono and his father, I have been sent here to train him.” When silence greeted him for a moment Reborn continued, pulling his fedora down to shield his cunning eyes. “I will make him the greatest Mafia boss Vongola has seen yet.”  
Reborn smirks then, and his arrogant attitude shivering though everyone gathered. Kyouya’s eyebrows furrow, driving his passive expression into unease, his tonfas appear ready in his hands and his aggressive stance becomes protective. Even if he would never admit it he cared for the Omnivore that gave him the truth where others would have crumbled and lied, and this herbivore- with the gun and the fedora- was about to ruin what was his.  
Chrome finds a way to glue herself even more tightly to Tsuna’s side, gripping him tightly in an embrace that leaves the brunette lacking on precious oxygen, but he can feel the tension in her body and doesn’t push her away. But soon as the words register in his mind, sharpened by the texts he’s read; Tsuna’s vision starts to tinge red.  
“NO!” Hayato’s voice booms above everyone else’s, and even the angered Mukuro is silenced, and Kyouya’s eyes widen. Chrome’s arms tighten around Tsuna’s waist, and Takeshi and Ryohei’s guard on him tightens, because they trusts Hayato, and his words scared them to their core. “I won’t let you ruin Tsuna’s life on Vongola’s whim.”  
To Tsuna’s horror Hayato’s hands soon filled with dynamite. The fuses sparking as they smolder to life, and Tsuna knew, something deep within him told him that this confrontation was going to change everything, was going to make sense of everything, of the strings, of the heavy fate, and of the darkness surrounding Mukuro, Chrome and Hayato.  
“And who are you to challenge me, Smoking Bomb Hayato?” the gun is clicked, aimed and Tsuna knows that this will end badly no matter the outcome.  
“I am Tsuna’s friend.”   
It was sudden and strong, but as if a storm had been waiting to roar the winds blew and the rains began. Misted water veiled over the scene and soon everyone stood in a replica of what Tsuna recognised as the dream plain of blurred consciousnesses that he shared with Chrome and Mukuro.  
His eyes found their way to heterochromatic irises and he stilled into the waiting arms of Lambo and Chrome when he saw the worry within blue and red.   
“I thought, for this Tsunayoshi, that you’d be more comfortable somewhere familiar to us.” And he was right of course, having known some of Tsuna’s finer workings in a way that detailed everyone else’s vague ideas, Mukuro’s assumption about this man, about Hayato, about Tsuna’s lineage were all correct. He knew, as he had thought since the beginning, that Tsuna was in for a tough future, but already he had had a tough ride, gathering violent, tricky, untrusting monsters to his side and making them bow to him.  
“You knew...” his question didn’t need answering because the smoker-turned-bomber-turned-protector was explaining it all during his fight.  
Tsuna would wonder later why Hayato was being so careless about the way he spoke as bombs and bullets collided, because it was not like Hayato at all to give away information so carelessly. But, in the end it was like Hayato to feel guilty, to put all blame onto himself, to try and get forgiveness in the only desperate way he could. Tsuna found he preferred the softened scowl than the desperation and fear upon the bomber’s face.  
“I don’t care that the Vongola is the strongest mafia, or that Tsuna’s father is a part of it, Tsuna isn’t.” His words continued, raining as Reborn grew more unsure of what the boy was doing. Soon enough Tsuna understood.  
Hayato was guilty; he was trying his best to get his friend informed of the situation in the quickest way possible. By babbling during a fight, in a way that made him seem incompetent, Tsuna was informed and enraged. It wasn’t just him, Hayato, Mukuro and Chrome, everything made sense all of a sudden.  
The famiglia that bloodied and tainted Chrome, Chikusa, Mukuro and Ken were mafia. They had stolen the teens as children from their homes with a slide of hand and an exchange of cash to needy greedy adults; they experimented and tortured for their own gain. The distrust in Mukuro and Chrome, as well as their little family, suddenly all made sense, the clinginess in their movements, the connection of fate, the sinister, psychotic rage in Mukuro’s heterochromatic eyes. The secrets they saw and pain in their movement when they watched Tsuna. It all made blaring, painful sense.  
Hayato’s statement about having a ‘powerful father’ suddenly made sense, the reasoning behind the separation from his mother-though still disgustingly disagreeable- made sense. It was all the Mafia’s fault, and Tsuna would be damned is he let this continue, let this taint and betrayal continue to torment his friends who had seen too much and his friends who had seen nothing.  
“He is the heir; his blood rite is to take Vongola’s throne, light his flames and lead.” Reborn’s words were carefully calculated, as if he was still trying to unravel the mystery behind the Smoking Bomber’s actions. The Bomber he knew through file and word was smart, this Bomber was spilling words. Reborn spoke to learn more of the meaning behind Hayato’s words. Though, he was unaware of the pain and unrest in the flickering, burning hues of orange currently shielded by the rest of the family.  
“It may be his rite, but Vongola is putting a last resort to slaughter. You are using Tsuna! I won’t let that happen.” Hayato’s words tore through everyone.  
Takeshi was alarmed, because Hayato seemed genuinely terrified and enraged. The bomber never turned such raw emotion onto the rest of his friends, but he had never seen him turn it on others either. Takeshi began to understand, began to think about exactly what it was that made him think Hayato was dangerous, and why when he heard the words of protection and promise, he never once thought that Hayato was dangerous to them.  
Ryohei’s mind was quick and calculated. He knew something was wrong with their group. They were all too different, too strange. He didn’t understand the words or the meanings, what he understood was that Tsuna and the others were in danger, and something evil and bloodied was coming to get them. It took him all of two seconds to step forward, next to Takeshi, take up a strengthened stance and prepare to fight bullets if he needed to.  
Mukuro and Chrome were silenced. Their minds blanked for a moment and they tried to make sense of it, nothing made sense anymore, especially not the colourless string wrapping around the man and Tsuna and them.   
It didn’t make sense why at his words of ‘Vongola’ and ‘Decimo’ all their coloured strings glowed happily, as if pleased by the realisation of their purpose. Because even if Tsuna’s mind harboured the training and the memory of suppressed flames it did not hold the memory of a Mafia boss, it showed no incline for them to think such a thing was even possible.   
It confused them, made them question everything they had made and gained with the brunette, they hated the mafia, they should hate Tsuna. They should, but the thoughts were only to be shot down by their hearts and their faith. They could never hate Tsuna.  
Lambo was simply terrified. The words made little sense, the bombs and bullets and loud screams and tight grips further terrified him. But his brother, Tsuna was calm and protective, and Lambo knew, just knew in his heart and head and body that nothing would happen to him, to any of them, is his Tsuna-nii was there.   
Lambo did not like the strange man with the gun who was attacking ‘Hayato-nii’- as embarrassing as it was to Lambo that he thought of the silvernette as such- and protective sparks clashed in his soul, they turned to determined flames that one day soon he would light and burn and flash with.  
Kyouya stood stalk still. He knew the ‘omnivore’ was dangerous and unpredictable. But this man simply made the brunette something even more interesting. It was as if Kyouya had all the puzzle pieces, had only one left to put in place- one space in the puzzle left- and suddenly an entirely new place fell into his hand blowing his almost-completed puzzle to bits.   
Try to finish me now, you’re not done yet.   
All Kyouya knew was this threat was strong, this threat had a pull and a tug, a tightness he recognised in Tsuna and the others, but this stranger’s tug was different and had yet to bring the familiar, comforting embrace that Tsuna’s brand of ‘tug’ brought to Kyouya. Kyouya knew only one thing that would really eliminate the uncomfortable entity in their midst, and he was willing to get rid of the threat to their pride no matter the cost.  
“Last resort or not, slaughter or not, I am here to train him by order of his Father and of the Vongola Nono. If you stand in my way I will illuminate you.” Tsuna knew that that threat was not aimed solely at Hayato, but at all of his friends, and even at Lambo and himself.  
That was the last straw for Tsuna. Because while the confrontation raged on, as his friends took stances against bullets they would not be able to block, Tsuna was aware of a dull pain in his chest. Hayato and Mukuro had not told him about their connection with the mafia. Tsuna knew that Mukuro had had a great injustice done to him- to Chrome too- but never had they elaborated on that. Mukuro didn’t tell him about the memories of training, or flames and of bullets that he had seen suppressed within Tsuna’s mind, and Hayato hadn’t told him about the recognition he felt in Tsuna’s name, in the abilities he displayed, and in the power Mukuro held.  
Somewhere though, Tsuna was relieved, because everything made so much sense; his power, his knack for business, his father’s lack of presence and the strings that wrapped around his fingers and wrists. Everything made so much sense, and Tsuna would have fainted from relief if his friends weren’t in so much danger.  
Reborn was a Hitman, somewhere deep and instinctual told him the man’s words were true, and Tsuna knew that Reborn would kill his friends if he thought they were going to interrupt his mission. Tsuna knew that he had to act fast, because these seven people were now so integral in his life that if they decided to leave him because this stranger came in and said he was to be in the mafia, well Tsuna wasn’t sure how his mind and body would take it.  
“STOP it ALL of you!” his words were harsh; he pushed his way out of numerous protective embraces and in-between Reborn and his friends. He burned, practically glowing with his resolve to protect everyone and listen to this new stranger. The strings were enough to tell him that this strange man was fated to meet them, he was even more convinced when he saw that strange colourless string wave in the air; it was attached to everyone in the group.  
Everyone was silenced, even the Hitman who came to destroy everything. Tsuna’s eyes burned, and Reborn realised, to his dismay and curiosity, that the boy had more makings for a boss than he had originally been told. Already a resolved burned bright enough to threaten and ignite the flames that were suppressed long ago and were his rite by blood. Already his intuition was flaring up, Reborn could see it, see the way the boy moved, that controlled stride he shouldn’t yet have. The boy was smart, and Reborn couldn’t wait to sink his teeth in and train the boy correctly.  
“You are going to explain, because I won’t let you stroll in here and expect us to bow to you.” Tsuna’s words were cutting and final and Reborn found himself bowing, even if he tried to convince himself that it was to see what the brat was capable of. “You will listen.” Tsuna explained to his friends in a softer but still commanding tone, because he knew they couldn’t avoid this, but at least they could accept it on their own terms and not by the terms of fate; they would not bow to the woman who gave Tsuna the power of manipulation and sight.

XXXXXXX

Soon they were sitting in the living room of their large home. Had Reborn been a different man he would have been impressed that the boys and lady –who were not even eighteen in most cases- had managed to secure and hold down a house and keep it as well managed and homey as it was.  
What did amaze him however, were the people his ‘student’ had gathered to his side and the ease at which they all interacted, touched, and moved around each other, most naturally of course around and with Tsuna. He was most surprised by Hayato Gokudera.   
Reborn knew of the boy, knew of his nature, his upbringing and his distrust in all men. He was most surprised by the boy’s fierce protectiveness over the brunette who sat on the couch opposite Reborn and in the center of a mass of violently and openly protective children.  
It was a beautiful sight to Reborn, because his student sat in the center, his left leg crossed over the other with his left arm stretched over the back of the couch- at first- and his right in his lap, he was the image of power and control. He looked like a boss surrounded by his family. He looked like Nono and primo combined  
No, Reborn corrected himself; he looks like Primo’s ideal brought to life.  
Hayato sat on Tsuna’s right, his arms wide and legs crossed, his stance ready for anything upright and proud, gently gathered in his left hand were dynamite fiddled with by his fingered, and in his lips hung a lit, smoldering cigarette. Reborn didn’t miss the possessive, reassuring glances Tsuna sent the bomber, and despite the fact he knew Tsuna had no prior knowledge of the silver-haired teen’s involvement in the mafia, Reborn knew that Tsuna had seen, acknowledged and accepted it as a part of Hayato as easily and wholly as he had acknowledged and accepted Hayato as his friend.   
Next to Hayato was the sturdy white-haired teen, he was stiff and ready, his face was scowled in concentration and his form twitched, ready to fight and defend the entire group. There were scrapes littering his face and bare arms, a sure sign the boy knew how to fight. Reborn was not sure what to make of the boy. Not yet anyway.   
In the far corner was a violent teen. He was ivory, pure ivory with ebony accenting his form. A black jacket, black hair, black eyes. He was violent, enraged, and wary beyond belief. An abused animal would be Reborn’s immediate assessment. But he was strong, he was determined, and he would be the first to attack. His form was lithe and relaxed. There was pride in his step, Reborn knew that. He had a poker face like one Reborn had never seen on a child; it chilled him to think someone in a time like theirs could be raised so coldly. Yet, Reborn saw it; he saw the softening of the steeled eyes when Tsuna spoke in hushed, hurried tones with the older teen. Sometimes, as Reborn had watched for days- weeks even- Tsuna didn’t even speak words and the ebony and ivory teen responded exactly how Tsuna needed him to respond. It was so strange, as if they were attached, blurred. Like they knew something none of the other teens knew. Saw something the other teens had never seen, would never see. It was one of the things that had made Reborn so uneasy that morning, it made him act sooner than he had wanted.  
To his student’s left- pressed impossibly into his side and eventually wrapped in Tsuna’s left arm as it descended from the back of the couch- was a young child, someone Reborn had had his eyes on, all of Tsuna’s siblings were interesting, but the boy with the wild black hair and hurt, studying eyes was the most interesting for Reborn’s purposes. Especially when you look into his lineage, Reborn had thought when looking over the records. He would be interesting, but would be Tsuna’s first priority of protection if a fight broke out.   
To the child’s left was another interesting, but unknown, person. He was tall, slim, and leaned forward, blocking the view of the child ever so slightly. Balanced in one hand, and resting against his thigh was a metal baseball bat, and had Reborn been even a little more relaxed in the heavily atmospheric room he would have smirked, a baseball bat would do so little damage to him it was hysterical. He had potential, the lines in his body, and the cold, calculating look upon his toned, schooled face spoke volumes of that. Reborn wanted to teach this boy too, he was a Hitman in the making, practically asking to be taught, to learn to get stronger. It made Reborn so very glad that for once every report he had read was so far wrong.  
Finally there were two teens who shared a face and gait. They both had blue-purple hair and were illusionists; they were skilled ones at that. Reborn had noticed the quick, dense illusion that covered them when they first met. Reborn noted the way the girl stood forward, touching and close to Tsuna, taking strength from his closeness and aura. She was shaky, weak and feeble. But her eyes, a hue so unnatural that Reborn almost knew instinctively where she had come from, shone bright and clear, flickering, burning with the flames that she and her ‘brother’ had lit and wielded unwittingly without knowledge or training. She was willing to die to protect Tsuna. She was a danger though, because she was so weak in and of her physical self. The male on the other hand, he sent Reborn’s instincts bristling and told him to shoot and run, not to look back.   
Not many people could rile him so deeply.   
The man-boy at first seemed harmless, he leant back, still directly behind Tsuna, but close enough to pounce and protect. Like his ‘sister’ he gripped a trident in his hands, longer and sharper, it seemed a toy in the hands of the young. But Reborn had noticed his student interacting with the teen, the way they moved, the way the pineapple-haired teen spoke, he knew volumes more than he should, and he was willing to attack even the gathered teens- who Reborn assumed were all friends- if it meant protecting Tsuna in the most secure way. His eye held a dangerous power of knowledge, and Reborn feared that red eye for it was different, strange, and he had never known of anyone with such a strange, unnerving power.   
He looked on, worried, intrigued, practically salivating at the chance to train and mingle with all the teens. It did disappoint him somewhat that so many of them were civilians and that one was a child but he shrugged it off quickly. Beggars can’t be choosers.  
What Reborn would question later, and would continue to question for only a week before it sank into the back of his mind never to be brought up again, was when it was exactly that he came to care for and be so protective of every single child in the room. The answer to that he’d never truly get, but it was when Tsuna looked at him, smiled, and welcomed him into their family only a few days into their meeting.  
It was interesting how they all moved together, one with each other. The glances, the touches, it was as if they were one soul. It looked as if they shared one fate, one tale. One life. It was dangerous, awe-inspiring, and told Reborn everything he needed to know.  
“I suppose you know my name, but introductions are in order nonetheless.” Tsuna began, again, as he spoke everyone listened as if drawn to his words, hanging on them, waiting for a reason to attack or speak for themselves.  
Each introduced themselves, but it was not warm and welcoming as their greetings usually were. These were tense, brash introductions that left Tsuna amazed. Everyone had read the situation and was acting accordingly. Protecting what they had built in just less than three months, and had solidified in just over three days.  
“I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, though I would greatly prefer Tsuna.”  
“Gokudera Hayato, you know me as Smoking Bomb Hayato .”  
“I am Yamamoto Takeshi.”  
“Sasagawa Ryohei.”  
“Hibari Kyouya.”  
“My name is Rokudo Mukuro.”  
“I’m Dokuro Chrome.”  
“L-Lambo. I-I’m Sawada L-Lambo.”  
With that the tension didn’t ease, it stayed tense and brutal, Lambo wanted to cry, and even Chrome felt tears prickly, she didn’t like this danger, she wanted out. She wanted this man out of their lives and home.  
“Duly noted. I am Reborn. I am the greatest Hitman in the world and I currently work under Vongola Nono, Timotei.” Tsuna’s memory sparked at the mention of the name; remembering the briefest of meetings with an old man, and man whose kindness still affected Tsuna. “As I mentioned before, I am here on order of Nono, and your father, Sawada Iemitsu, to train you-and your six guardians- to be the Decimo generation of Vongola. The strongest, bloodiest Mafia family in Italy, some would argue the world.”   
“I told you. I. Will. Not. Let. You. Kill. Tsuna.” Hayato’s words were terse, they shattered the silence, and Tsuna felt the need to physically bring Hayato back to the present with a gentle touch to his shoulder.  
“Haytao...” Tsuna have him a pointed look before turning his gaze to his other friends. The rest were shocked. Tsuna understood of course, the mafia, really. He was smart enough to figure out- as he was sure the others had- that Tsuna’s father was in the mafia and that was his reason for never being home.  
“Why.” Tsuna all but asked. He knew he couldn’t ask anything else yet.  
“You are a direct descendent of the first boss, Giotto, and therefore are the rightful heir.”  
Tsuna was shaking his head even before Reborn finished. “That’s not what I mean. Why me? Why now?” Tsuna’s eyes were harsh. He thought back to all the books he had read, the movies he had seen. It didn’t make any sense. Though, it was embarrassing that he was using movie references in such a real situation.  
“All the other candidates are dead.” Reborn’s voice was strained- though Tsuna noticed only because his string flickered and writhed.   
Reborn’s string was dictated by emotion, and now Tsuna understood why. He was a Hitman, one flicker of emotion; one uncontrolled tilt of the lips would mean his death. It all made perfect sense. And this Hitman suddenly looked so weak and lonely, because his string while arrogant and brutal was also writhing and crying. This Hitman had lost much in his journey to the top. He had lost much on his journey to Tsuna.  
“So you expect me to believe that I am the last heir. And that the Vongola is willing to pass me the throne solely because of that reason.” Tsuna concluded. It was amazing really, because his philosophy was finally paying off. Ask the right questions, get the right answers. What was even more amazing was that everyone was feeling more relaxed by the minute as Tsuna spoke and turned the conversation around.  
“Yes, I do,” Reborn’s face became contemplative, he was unsure of how it happened, but he had just been played by a seventeen-almost-eighteen year old boy. He was also unsure if he should really divulge the information, worse come worse he could kill the brat, but the paperwork and Iemitsu were turnoffs for that direction. There was also a hint of attraction to the brat, that gravity he soon found himself immersed in. A quicksand of charm and loyalty that no one could escape once it touched them with its soft embrace. “Vongola is part of a greater system that demands the ‘Sky’ is of blood relation to the previous generation. At this time, and with the current leader getting old, you are the only viable heir left. No one else is of blood relation.”  
Tsuna mulled over the information as the others stewed. Of course, Mukuro, Chrome and Hayato knew all this information already and they stewed on different things.  
“If I said no?”  
“I’d kill everyone in this room.” Reborn’s green gun clicked into place, as if to solidify that dangerous promise.  
Fury roared in Tsuna’s blood. He would have stood and beaten the Hitman ‘til his fists were bloodied and broken, but hands held him down, so many tight, confused, urgent hands. His face did not move from the furious scowl but he spoke again.  
“I will not allow you to kill my friends.”  
Reborn thought for a moment, given that no one else knew about these ‘friends’ Reborn could use it to his advantage. “As of yet these people are not obligated to be in the famiglia. However, should you take the position and they refuse, they will need to leave your life forever.”  
Tsuna’s heart kicked out, he felt like he had just been dumped in icy water and dunked until his lungs burned with the blazed nonexistence of air.  
It couldn’t be happening, nothing this cruel and painful could be happening to him. Fate was cruel and selfish, he knew that fact, had known it for years. But now he felt it hit home, because fate was giving Tsuna all these wonderful, tear-jerking things, and now she threatened to take them all away. It never did occur to Tsuna- not even after ten years- that maybe this is what the fate strings were dictating all along.  
“Everyone, please go make dinner.” Tsuna’s voice was harsh and cracking. All the fury, anxiety and stress threatened to make him snap. But he needed them out of the room for this next conversation.  
Everyone left easily of course, they just listened into the door while Hayato cooked- having excellent hearing really worked to his advantage in situations like this.  
However, Tsuna would never know the fear and decision making going on throughout his conversation. Every single person weighed up their options when the mention of ‘guardians’ cropped up, because wasn’t that what they had all basically promised to be to Tsuna, his guardians and friends?   
Somewhere deep in all of them they felt indebted to him, and strangely enough, they felt a heavy kick and nausea when they harboured the idea of packing up now and leaving Tsuna’s life. It was wrong and they wouldn’t stand for it.  
Hayato had made his decision as soon as he caught word- in his long and vast network of contacts- that Tsuna was a potential heir. He had decided to follow Tsuna in anything he decided, even if it cost him his life or in the case that Tsuna didn’t want him in his guardian-hood.  
Takeshi decided the minute he understood the depth in which Tsuna was in trouble, because Tsuna was not someone he was about to let die by some unknown danger. His immediate thought was the sword, being Tsuna’s sword and shield.  
Ryohei didn’t really understand until much later, but throughout the evening while Tsuna talked to the suave stranger Ryohei was overcome by the urge to grab Tsuna and run. To protect him. Never one to doubt his instincts that was all it took for Ryohei to decide that Tsuna was worth protecting no matter what or when the shit hit the fan.  
Lambo would not understand until Tsuna talked to him later in the week, and would not truly understand for years to come. But Lambo had always felt tied to Tsuna, more so than his other siblings. Being with Tsuna and the other teens he had gathered to his side felt right. Once Tsuna had explained in detail to him what was going to happen he had smiled, tears welling from fear in his eyes and promised to do his best.  
Kyouya understood the mafia. He understood the yakuza and understood what this stranger meant. What he didn’t understand was how on earth the meek brunette with the sharp tongue and sharper reflexes fit into it all. The stranger intrigued him, and something felt right when he heard the pair in the living room talking of guardians. Despite the fact that Kyouya lived for authority and the mafia lived for upheaval, it felt so right to place himself in this ‘famiglia’. Kyouya lived for solitude and independence, he lived to be free of all forms of constraint- that is why he was on the top- but somehow and somewhere in the depths of himself was a part of him that needed that stability and place of domain. All the upheaval and clashing ideals within him was what decided it for him. He would protect this famiglia; he would protect Tsuna.  
Mukuro was having very, very contradicting feelings about the whole thing. He would never forgive the mafia, not for what they did to him, not for what they did to Chikusa and Ken, and never would he forgive them for what they had done to Chrome through her family. He still saw the still, dying form of the girl when her organs disintegrated in that shit-hole of a mafia hospital in Estraneo. The first thought was revenge, but somehow it hurt, because Tsuna had done nothing but amazing things for Mukuro and his family, if anything he owed Tsuna, he could not possibly use him to extract revenge, could he? But something within him, something possessive and born from one of his multiple trips through hell told Mukuro to hold Tsuna, to keep him to himself, to keep him within the family. Mukuro was not so worried about taint and death- as the others were- because he had seen it all, he had been there before and done that. What he was truly worried about was forgetting his hated and his pain, he feared becoming too close to Tsuna and tainting what was a pure and selfless being.  
Chrome, like Mukuro, didn’t know what to think. However, her thoughts were a little brighter. The mafia had done terrible, terribly unforgiving things to both her and Mukuro and their family, and she owed Mukuro more than just her life, she was indebted enough that she should leave Tsuna if Mukuro told her to, but she- they- owed Tsuna just as much of a debt, if not more. Her feelings were so contradicting, and even while Tsuna spoke with Reborn, discussing his vow of protection Chrome could not make up her mind. It wasn’t until later that her mind was made up, later when she saw Tsuna’s broken-backed form in the living room and smelt the tears and heard the broken, lost sobs that left his mouth; ‘they’re all going to leave me. What am I going to do?’  
Of course, Tsuna was completely unaware of the inner turmoil and decisions of his friends, he never would because his friends all felt, intrinsically, that Tsuna would die a little inside if he ever knew the pain in their decisions. Because as nice and easy as some of their decisions were there was that depth of pain and fear for themselves and their families as they decided to drown and choke themselves in the blood of the mafia.  
“You said I need guardians.” Tsuna began once he was sure everyone was gone. “And a famiglia, what exactly do you mean.”  
“Vongola works on a Sky system where the boss is the sky, and each of his six guardians is an element of that sky. You need six guardians; and you will get them, I don’t think you’ll like the consequences otherwise.” Reborn was steely; he bore down on Tsuna, trying to get him to understand. He was impressed though, because this boy wasn’t as weak and feeble minded as Iemitsu made him out to be. “As for your ‘Famiglia’ they are just general members who will make your family strong. The members of the inner and outer circles of Vongola. Your... resolve, as it were. They are there to give you something to protect, to give you a reason to fight and live... maybe even to make Vongola what it once was...” he trails of towards the end and the words are left tapered and almost uncaught by Tsuna’s ears.  
“I don’t have anyone like that.” Tsuna explains with hardened, flickering eyes.  
“Oh you don’t? I think I know a few potential members of your family.” Reborn smirks dangerously, and Tsuna’s mind jumps. “Like those siblings of yours.”  
Before either knows what is happening Tsuna is up and a fist is striking across Reborn’s sharp jaw. With wild, flaming eyes, and an aura of pure, breathtaking orange the boy fumes with protective ferocity and bears down on the shocked Hitman. Even if it is only an instant. “You. Will. Not. Mess. With. My. Family. Don’t you DARE threaten them.”   
Then the Hitman is on Tsuna, gun drawn, cocked, and placed nicely on the temple of Tsuna’s head. The cold is shocking, but the protective resolve burning Tsuna’s irises orange does not leave.  
“It is your decision whether or not to bring them with you. Just know, you cannot escape this fate Dame-Tsuna, and if you want to protect your family from unwanted visitors, keep them close, and get yourself strong.” With that the gun is put away and Tsuna is left in the empty living room with dull, throbbing heart and mind.   
The word most dangerous to him, most weighing and surreal is the fact that for all his life, for all his running, everything he’s done, he still cannot outrun or change his fate. And now, now his friends and family were going to pay for it. His stupid attempt to change and rearrange fate into something he wanted.  
It is Hayato who enters the cool living room first. A mug of tea sits in his hands, and as he takes a seat directly in front of Tsuna, he hopes with his whole heart that he is doing the right thing.  
“Hayato. What do I do?” Tsuna sounded weak, tired, exhausted and sick. It doesn’t suit him; was what Hayato quickly decided.  
“Tsuna.” He whispered. He placed the tea in his friend’s hand before continuing. “I know that you probably don’t trust me, not after I betrayed you, but Vongola isn’t as bad as that bastard Hitman makes it out to be.” Hayato begins telling Tsuna of the long history, the blood, the tears, and the beginning. “Tsuna, I’ve seen pictures of Primo, I have never seen an heir who looks more like him than you... I think, Tsuna I think you could bring Vongola back to its original glory!” Hayato’s words were not rushed or full of ardent glory, they were full of sincere trust and awe. But the words were not enough, Tsuna’s still down casted his eyes.  
“Tsuna, you will not be able to escape this, I know they will kill you if you refuse, or force you into the position until another heir can be found. But Tsuna, you are not alone in this.”  
Tsuna looked up into his face; tears brimming in orange flickered eyed. They were beautiful.  
“I promise, on my body and soul, I will stay with you. I will fight for you, be your right hand or your nothing. You will not go through this alone Tsuna. Not on my watch. I promise to die before I let them hurt you.”  
Hayato looked up and took Lambo from Takeshi's arms. He walked the child to Tsuna’s room, knowing he could not go home and that Tsuna could not face him and explain what had just happened until much later when he himself had calmed down.  
“Yakyu-baka. Do what you can.”  
Takeshi of course had no idea what to do, what to think; he didn’t even know what to say. So instead he sat, his back leaning on Tsuna’s leg and his eyes watching an imaginary horizon.  
“Tsuna.” He began; his voice was cracked and hoarse. “I don’t really understand any of this. I don’t understand how this is happening or why. But I do know that Hayato is right. You’re not alone in this. I know none of us will abandon you, even if you think we all will. I will stay by you. Think Tsuna, we can be a real family now.”  
For a long, long time they sat in silence, and though Tsuna didn’t move and didn’t speak he knew he had said something right. The lines of Tsuna’s body, the shadow on the wall, the tension had ebbed away and the sobs had silenced themselves to deep, controlled breathing.  
He walked Tsuna into the kitchen where only Ryohei was left leaning against the counter. His face was shadowed and his brilliant hair was dulled by the evening gloom. He looked dangerous standing in the corner, but when he nodded Takeshi knew he was going to look after Tsuna until he could stand on his own.  
“Night Tsuna.” Was all that Takeshi said before he went to bed with whispers of death and hesitance hanging on his shoulder.  
“How do you manage it, Sawada?” Ryohei’s words were warm and his smile loving. He walked over and turned a chair, straddling it backwards with his forearms resting on the top of the chair’s back.  
“Onii-san...”  
“You know that I can’t really give my life away right? I have Kyoko to worry about, bills to pay and guardianship of her still left to keep up. I can’t throw my life into organised crime, and I can’t give up on family.” Ryohei’s eyes stared into Tsuna, and Tsuna stated back.  
“I would never ask you to give up on your sister, Ryohei, if I could I’d make sure you could still live here. I don’t want you getting into this. This is something that none of you deserve. It’s too danger-“  
“Let me finish.” Ryohei cut in, knowing Tsuna was worried about all of them, knowing that come morning Tsuna would probably question them all over and over again; trying to ascertain the reasoning that he would never know. “I said, ‘I can’t give up on family.’ So that means, Sawada that I can’t give up on you.”  
Tsuna was stunned more for words than ever. His ‘big brother’ was sacrificing everything; all his friends so far were. He just hoped, that one day, one day when Vongola was a vigilante again, when the blood was cornered and contained that he could repay Ryohei; Tsuna’s only wish now was to repay everyone.  
You might ask when it was he decided to take the throne of Vongola. Well, it wasn’t when Reborn threatened him, he was willing to take a bullet for his friends and for the end of a mafia famiglia; he would not bow so easily. It wasn’t really when Reborn mentioned the grandfather from long distant memories, or the will of his father- because really the man had little to do with Tsuna’s life so why would he listen to Iemitsu? It certainly wasn’t when Reborn threatened his siblings- that little threat nearly sealed the deal of a bullet between the eyes for Tsuna. No, it was when Hayato had walked in, when the boy had told him of Vongola’s past, because when Hayato spoke of pride and disgust it felt right, the string glowed and orange crept along the colourless string. Something told Tsuna- be it fate, intuition or strings- that he would not escape the situation, but he could certainly tailor it.  
“It’s time for bed TO THE EXTREME Tsunayoshi!” Ryohei knew Tsuna wouldn’t go to bed yet, but it didn’t hurt to try.  
“It’s okay Onii-san, I think I’ll just finish my tea.” Ryohei didn’t argue, he gripped Tsuna’s shoulder with a harsh grasp and walked to his own room, words of promise and fear would stalk him, and all the others, that night. But stalking fears are dispelled with the light of morning, and the light of a smile upon their friend’s face come night’s end.  
Tsuna was sitting in the kitchen alone that evening mulling over a mug of Chai when Kyouya waltzed in, gripped his chin and made him look him in the eyes.  
“Tsunayoshi, you are our sky. I never said I was leaving. Now stop being an herbivore and stand up.” Kyouya left the room, leaving behind only his words and an awed brunette who didn’t understand how he deserved such kindness and loyalty.   
Though, a little part of him laughed. It was so very like Kyouya to be so blunt and straightforward about his feelings and thoughts.  
With Kyouya’s response and encouragement Tsuna walked to Mukuro’s room, his knock was strong and determined. Because he was going to tell the two teens that had seen too much that he didn’t expect them to stay. He expected them to hate and scorn him. But he did not get his expectation.  
They were both sitting on the couch, sipping coffee and staring at the ceiling when Tsuna entered, neither looked on, but he soon found himself sitting between them, taking strength in their warmth and closeness.  
“I don’t expect either of you to stay. I know the mafia has done to you what no one should. I don’t want to drag you back into this.” Tsuna would not be ashamed to say he had tears in his eyes, because it hurt, every one of his friends hurt him, because he truly thought they all would leave.  
“Tsuna, I’m not leaving.” Chrome was the first to respond. She eyes were glinting, because she and Mukuro had shielded themselves and watched Tsuna in the living room and kitchen, broken and distraught and they never wanted to see that again.  
“W-what?” Tsuna looked up into indigo so pure it hurt. Tears swirled, flashing and softening what were resolved, terrified eyes.  
“We’re not leaving, Tsunayoshi. We are going to stay by your side.” Mukuro could feel the wash of emotion in their blurred consciousness. It was a testament to Tsuna’s confusion and fear that Mukuro could feel so much of the pain and disbelief. But it made him feel... well he didn’t know...but it felt good.  
“You...” Chrome began with unsteady tone. “...are worth it.”  
That’s all Tsuna needed, because soon there was good coffee in his hands and warm bodies pressed next to him. He would keep questioning it for the rest of the week. But soon enough the only thing that plagued his mind was the hope that everything he did in the future would never make his friends- his guardians- regret their decision to stay.  
Finally Mukuro and Chrome kicked him out of their room and he made his way to his own. He was greeted by the soft, even breaths of his brother, sleeping soundly on Tsuna’s bed with pale cheeks and damp eyes. Tsuna knew it was his fault. Knew Lambo was a part of this, knew he couldn’t shield him from this. That didn’t mean Tsuna couldn’t wish he had the power to protect Lambo from everything this fate threw at them.  
“What am I going to do Lambo? I don’t want you to go, I want to see you grow; I want to be in your life. I could never ask you to throw away your life for me; I love you too much to ask you to be my guardian. Not when I am the one suppose to be protecting you.”  
Tsuna’s fingers brushed through curly tresses of ebony, but it was so soft and lush, he wished his life was not being torn apart. He wanted to watch his siblings grow. He wanted to see them shine and eventually raise his own family. But it seemed fate, the ever changing and moody mistress, did not see that for him.  
“Lambo-sama will try his best Tsuna-nii. Lambo will get stronger! I don’t want you to leave. I never want to leave Tsuna-nii’s side. So please, p-p-please don’t send Lambo away!” Tears welled and fell onto Tsuna when the seven year-old launched himself at Tsuna. There and then Tsuna knew the boy would find a way to get into this famiglia, and there and then Tsuna decided to keep him close and keep him safe.  
“What insane, amazing friends I have.” No one would ever know of the tears Tsuna shed in the dark, secluded room in the big, warm house that evening. No one but himself and the darkness that held him in its arms.

XXXX

It wasn’t until the end of the week that they saw Reborn again. The enigma had stayed away, not listening into their conversations, knowing that it was not his right to do so. Not until the children were ready.  
“Have you made your decision, Dame-Tsuna?” Reborn asks. They are gathered in the living room once again, sitting like they did on the first meeting,   
“We have decided to become the Decimo. But mark my words, Reborn; I will not continue down the bloodied road, I will not let my friends become tainted by the blood of my ‘family’ when they have been thrown into something never intended for them. We’re going to change Vongola, or I’m going to die trying.”  
Reborn was impressed and moved. The child had grown exponentially in only the week and with only his friends at his side. It moved him, made him feel strong. Most of all, it made Reborn feel assured that Vongola would stay at the top and stay safe for its oldest members and newest children.  
“This is my promise to you then. If you keep your resolve burning, brighter and brighter, I will give my life to train and to protect you and your family until you are able to do so on your own, or my life is lost. This is my solemn, eternal promise.” He kneels before Tsuna, humble and strong.   
Reborn’s dark, onyx eyes stare up into Tsuna’s deep and all-encompassing brown. The hues are so deep and dark and lonely, they engulf Tsuna, and he finds that it is hard to not feel warm and safe. The promise is a large one, but Tsuna feels that Reborn will keep it. His family, his friends, will all be safe and make it to adulthood where they will all change the Vongola, no matter how much they wish not to have tainted hands and bloodied souls.  
Everyone in the room feels the truth in the promise, and though they will never understand the reasoning behind it, they immediately feel bonded and connected. All hostility was lost quickly, and faith and trust were the only things left behind. Tsuna will always understand though, because once those words were spoken, a flash a click, and the smell of old books and gunpowder drifted through the air. Orange wrapped a colourless string, giving it body and support, and colourless became the fencing around them all. Reborn’s string wrapped Tsuna’s entire body, like a five-point harness, and Tsuna’s in turn embraced Reborn, keeping him grounded and shielded. The promise made was more physical to Tsuna and Reborn than any other fate or promise. It was something no one could understand. Not even Tsuna.  
The next few days are less tense. Reborn stays in the house, in one of the spare rooms away from everyone else. He appears at breakfast and dinner, and throughout the rest of the day mingles with everyone else. Though the initial distrust is there, especially in the case of Mukuro and Chrome, soon enough, as Reborn brings down the guillotine to touch their throats, everyone moves as if they were one soul. It was surreal, and somehow, Tsuna no longer felt sick and unbalanced. He felt whole for the first time in a very, very long time.  
“Ne, Reborn.” Tsuna had begun when everyone had settled into the dining room for a hearty dinner courtesy of Hayato and Takeshi. “I want to officially welcome you into the family.” With that cheers rang through the room before plates and cutlery clinking was the greatest sounds.  
A smirk broke through Reborn’s facade, and his fedora was pulled down just in time for only Tsuna to catch the warm, contented smile that followed.  
“I do believe we should get to training then.”


	8. Never broken, only frayed (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have written a sequel to this story called 'Knots that tie, Strings that bind.' and it will be uploaded soon. Thank you for taking the time to read x

Tsuna had been astounded by what was happening, because it didn’t really seem real. Not until Reborn handed him the small mahogany box, embossed with the elegant, refined crest of Vongola. The box that held the rings that proved Tsuna’s position and ensured his seat in Vongola’s throne.  
His friends had gone to bed, it was late, going on twelve, no one really had the time or energy to spend in the living room that evening, Reborn had just run them through their paces.  
He was a strict teacher. But he was kind and selfless. He was keeping his promise, and though they cursed and moaned and spat, Tsuna knew each one of his guardians was aware of that fact too. He was trying to make them strong, keep them standing. Keep them alive.  
Tsuna was reading over some of the documents regarding Vongola’s history, and it was fair to say with no exaggeration that Tsuna was disgusted and scared. It was such a dark, bloodies history, so many deaths and so much corruption. He imagined that Giotto was turning and writhing in his grave, crying tears only the dead and hindsight could shed. Reborn walked in with a grim expression and a little box.  
He knelt before Tsuna, proud, poised and submissive. While the others would have scoffed at the thought of a submissive Reborn, Tsuna knew otherwise. Reborn was always submissive when they were alone, submissive but true, and he put Tsuna in his place- though rare given Tsuna’s personality and resolve- when he became too lenient or too unaware of his surroundings and his declaration of bosshood. As he knelt, on his right knee with a stiff, proud and strong back, his fedora was pulled off in his free hand.  
Tsuna found deep eyes looking back at him. They were far too deep, deeper than the colour should really allow. But they were magnificent. They sent thrills and power diving into Tsuna, because they were just those kind of eyes. Open, truthful with the right people and they told the promises the owner could not speak.  
“I know you decided who your guardians are. I know you will not change your mind. I know you know I approve. But others will not. Take these. Give them to your guardians and show the world, tell Vongola exactly who you are- who you all are- and what it is your going to do.” Reborn was terse and tense, but when Tsuna watched him, never taking his eyes away, listening to Reborn and to no one else, well, Reborn found himself delightfully free.  
“Reborn...” Tsuna took the box, amazed and awed by the feeling bubbling and cresting in his chest. As wrong and strange as it felt, it was amazing and breathtaking to have this much power under his wing, to have such an amazing man under his command. But at the same time, he did not feel that Reborn was under his command. Instead, Tsuna felt that Reborn was his comrade. Was his equal, his equivalent, the same, his friend, his family.  
Taking the dark box with soft, gentle fingers, Tsuna ran his eyes first over the worn, carved surface. It was beautiful really, though there were stains all over it, ones he could tell, from feel and from the red trying and dying the surface that many lives had been lost to protect and dispatch the box, for he knew the stains were the blood of those sacrificed.  
Moving with delicate care, Tsuna gently unravelled the red strings that were invisible to Reborn, but were painfully physical for him. He knew his movements would be strange to Reborn, after all who would untie invisible strings? But Tsuna knew he had to be gentle, felt he needed to be intrinsically respectful of the red strings, because they signaled both the ending and the beginning of countless people’s fates.  
When the strings floated away, resting in the air around the box, ready to rewrap it once Tsuna’s ministrations were complete, Tsuna opened the lid. Inside was a beautiful sight.   
Eight rings sat within the red satin, bold and contrasting and beautiful.  
“These are the Half-Vongola rings. They represent the coming generation. You and your guardians each wear one, and with them no one can deny that you are the Decimo.” Reborn passed, hope, fear, warmth flowing freely from his colourless string and even strength flowing from his face and body. “I’ll be back in a few days. I hope by then, Dame-Tsuna, that you will have chosen your guardians wisely.”  
With that and a confident backwards wave Reborn left through the front door, as if he owned the house. Which, Tsuna supposed, he kind of did. Though Tsuna wished he didn’t leave so soon, because Tsuna had a hundred thousand questions ringing in his brain and now they would be left unsatisfying unanswered.  
Tsuna took the time to look over each ring, picking it up, memorising each curve each stain each beautiful sketching and each string that connected and encased the rings that were curiously shaped- as if missing a vital part of themselves.  
First Tsuna removed the largest, central ring form its place. The ring was semi-circled, obviously meant to be circular, and in the center was a large, blue gem that glimmered, and when the light hit just right as Tsuna rotated and observed the ring, the Vongola crest was visible from behind the gem. The words ‘Vong-‘ and ‘Fami-‘ were pressed into the metal surrounding the ring along with three gems that were red, blue and yellow. Tsuna knew then that the ‘Half’ in ‘Half-Vongola rings’ was more literally than he had assumed and he was in for something tiring both emotionally and physically.  
What interested Tsuna the most were the strings. A plethora of red knots lined the ring’s curve, knotting, lacing, weaving before fluttering away, Tsuna could almost not see the silver of the metal, though he knew that it was there and it was what everyone else would see. However, amongst the red were four orange strings.   
One was Tsuna’s. That was obvious enough. He knew by now, after eighteen years of wearing the orange, glittering burningly brilliant string that the hue wrapping in a figure eight around the blue gem was his.   
The second was a duller orange, darker, and Tsuna would say more of a red hue than a yellow. It was pretty, strong, and glowed with a brilliance that made Tsuna wish he glowed as steadily; almost as if the string were wise and aged. This string was wrapped around the ring’s curve and darted quickly into the surrounding air before disappearing after two meters.   
The third was thin, but not fragile or frayed, in fact, Tsuna got the feeling that this string dictated the heaviest fate. A very drastic change in fates, it was interesting but also painful the string held much anger and much sadness. Reddened life anger it was burning to the touch, and Tsuna felt that the string’s owner would feel truly alone in his own world, even if he was surrounded by people.  
Finally, the fourth was thick, it was a brilliant orange that rivaled even the oranges of the sun set as the sun dipped and slept. The glittering, burning, flaming orange burned into Tsuna’s mind, it made him want to wrap the string around his very soul it was so warm that it almost hurt. So beautiful in fact that it was near breathtaking. This string seemed to originate from the ring’s core itself. It came from the crest behind the gem and instead of wrapping and knotting before flickering away it was incorporated into every string (there were seven others and ten including the three other orange) red or otherwise solidifying the fates of the bound strings to wear the ring and die by it.   
Despite the chill that settled into Tsuna’s bones when he thought of that, it was so beautiful that Tsuna wanted to cry.  
Instinctively Tsuna slipped the ring onto his right hand, directly onto his middle finger, and the fit was almost natural. The ring was heavy with fate. Each string weighed on the metal base, and Tsuna’s own fate was heavier still, because his fate was ladened with questions and uncertainties.  
Tsuna picked up another ring. This one was far less grand, it too was oddly shaped, looking to be a shield. Pressed into the metal with delicate care was what looked to be clams and a storm. Surrounding the ring were red strings again, but there were four that seemed so much more brilliant than the bland, tired strings of ordinary fate.   
One was a dull brilliance much like the stable orange of the ‘Sky’ ring, it held that aged wisdom that only the aged could possess, and it held an heir of inapproachability, much like someone who had seen too much in its years. It was as if the fate string was tired. This string held a glinting darkness and whiteness to it, very bright and very bold.  
The second was harsh and stark, bloodied and crimson the string was thin- like the violent string before- and tight to the point of snapping, it wasn’t a pleasant string for Tsuna to hold. It gave him shivers of unease.  
Thirdly was a tired string. It was thick and originated from the storming shape in the center of the sting, within the rope were pink strands and strands f black, the scent of gunpowder wafted around the string and it too incorporated into all the other strings.  
Finally was a string Tsuna knew all too well. Glittering with silver threads, the string was thick and wrapped in a figure eight around the shield of the string. Standing up from the couch, the box- not closed- resting safely under his arm, Tsuna followed the glittering, warm red string upstairs and towards the study where he was certain a certain bomber had secluded himself.  
Opening the door and walking towards the slanted window on the far side, Tsuna sat himself before Hayato. The looped red and silver string gave a jerk of light and Hayato looked up on instinct, feeling- completely subconsciously- the tug of fate as Tsuna took his seat.  
When green greeted brown, and a smile tugged at soft, pale lips, Tsuna watched as the smile fell and a shocked, painful expression filtered in instead. Hayato was staring at the extended ring in Tsuna’s hand.  
“Tsuna, so you know what that is?” Hayato’s breath was testing, trying not to show pain, but trying not to give off that trained-in shallow chill the mafia demanded Hayato own.  
“Yes and no. I know that this signified a member of my family.” Tsuna replied carefully. He always found these word games tiring, and Tsuna imagined that Hayato was trying to teach him in his own subtle I-can’t-teach-others-for-shit kind of way.  
“This is the storm ring. It signifies the Vongola boss’ right-hand man and storm guardian.”  
“Ah, I knew roughly that.”  
“Then why are you-“  
“Gokudera Hayato, will you do me the honours of being my right-hand and storm?” for some reason Tsuna knew that this boy-man was going to grow and grow strong. He could think of no other to be ‘continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious storm that never rests.’  
Hayato was speechless of course. Though he had decided long ago to follow Tsuna wherever he decided to go, never had he imagined that Tsuna would choose him, him, to be the right-hand of Vongola. Hayato could only be honoured, awed, and let the tears well and fall. He had never been so relieved. He would not lie to himself; it made him sick to even think of anyone at Tsuna’s side but him and their family.  
It took Tsuna an entire hour to get Hayato calm enough to take the ring, and it was slid delicately onto Hayato’s long, right middle finger immediately after. Hayato would continue to question Tsuna’s decision for the week. Then he would simply dive efforts to become the greatest right-hand in Vongola’s history.  
“Now,” Tsuna began, “tell me more about these rings...”  
After another hour of explanation, and some information about the characteristic of each ring and each guardian, Hayato excused himself to make dinner, and Tsuna excused himself too. A smile played on his lips as he fingered the ring with the half-tear-drop design.  
“I have a duty to fulfil.”  
“See you at dinner, Juudaime.” Tsuna laughed, because Hayato joked about never calling him Tsuna again. Tsuna had relented, “Only when we have ‘professional’ company Hayato.”  
Tsuna spun the blue stringed ring. Again it had four strings that seemed to mirror the ones on the other two rings. They were so odd and yet beautiful. Tsuna decided, as he looked in the box when Hayato was explaining various things, not to dwell on the other string yet, Tsuna followed the familiar string that held so much more than just blue.  
“Takeshi can I talk to you?”  
Tsuna entered Takeshi's room to find the teen polishing his sword. Reborn had started to train him in swordsmanship, giving him the bare essentials before telling him to confront his father if he wanted to get stronger. That had been a week ago.  
“Sure Tsuna, what can I do for you?”  
“I want to ask you how much you are willing to give up for this mafia thing.” Tsuna was serious and Takeshi appreciated it; seldom were people - at school or home- serious with him.  
“For you and this ‘family’ Tsuna, I’m willing to forfeit my life- but I will fight to stay alive to have more fun times with everyone.” With laughter in his voice Tsuna knew all was well and that he had followed the right string to his left hand.  
“Then Takeshi will you be my,” he punctuated his speech with thought, ‘blessed shower that settles conflict and washed everything away’, “Rain guardian?”  
Takeshi stood; he stared harsh and deep into Tsuna’s eyes. The browns were so warm and serious that Tsuna was left without words to describe them, but his body moved to where his words could not. His hand extended the ring and Takeshi took it and slid it onto his right hand.  
“I’ll be back for dinner Tsuna, can you tall Hayato he’ll have to cook with Chrome tonight?” Takeshi asked. He grabbed his sword and a spare bat-bag where he slid the sword into and slid the whole thing onto his shoulder.  
“Sure, you going to see your father?” Tsuna’s smile returned, and Takeshi knew –though he knew already intrinsically- that he was taking the right path.  
“Ah, I think it’s time he passed the family tradition down to me.”  
With that he was gone and Tsuna was on the way to see the troublesome twins.  
“Kufufufu, it took you long enough to get to us Tsunayoshi.” Mukuro chuckled as Tsuna entered Mukuro’s room and took a seat on one of the soft black couches in the corner.  
“Sorry Mukuro, I don’t play favourites, but if word got around to my right and left that they weren’t the first people to get their rings, well I think we’d have some trouble would we?”  
Tsuna relaxed back, tempted to take Chrome’s offer of coffee.  
“I think Tsuna’s right, Mukuro, you know how Hayato and Takeshi are, besides, you had no doubt that Tsuna would choose us.”  
“Eavesdropping in the living room again last night Mukuro?”  
Mukuro had the decency to look a little embarrassed. But Tsuna couldn’t even find it in himself to feel mad. This was Mukuro after all.  
“Do I have to ask?”  
“I wouldn’t think so, Tsunayoshi.” With that Tsuna reached into the box for the ring with the darkest indigo strings- though they still contained the lightened threads of his fate partner- and handed the silver jewellery off to Mukuro who promptly slipped it onto his finger and laughed in a way that warmed Tsuna.  
“And you Chrome?”  
“Do you really want me in your famiglia, Tsuna?”  
“Without a doubt.”  
“Then I don’t think you need to ask.”  
With that Chrome’s own ring was placed gently into her outstretched hand and Tsuna left with the sideways comment to Chrome asking her to help Hayato with dinner.  
“Of course Tsuna, I’ll go down to help now.”  
“Kufufufu, maybe I’ll go help too.”  
“I’d like to ask that you don’t Mukuro, repainting the walls and replacing the oven again is expensive and time-consuming.”  
Laughter followed Tsuna out of Mukuro’s room and into the hall. ‘Creating something from nothing, and nothing from something, thus bewildering the enemy and rendering the Famiglia’s true form intangible with visions of deceit.’ Tsuna found that his two guardians embodied and contradicted the ideal.  
Tsuna was tempted to disturb Ryohei’s training to give him his ring, but something told him that Kyouya would be the closest at hand at the moment. Seeing as the purple string was tightening warmly around his chest, Tsuna followed it out onto the rooftop where Kyouya was snoozing peacefully on the ground, arms folded behind his head and eyelids flittering relaxedly.  
Tsuna took a seat next to Kyouya. He was the only member of the household- besides maybe Takeshi when Kyouya was feeling amiable- that could (was allowed it was up for debate) to sit with and disturb the pale, black-haired teen from his sleep. In fact, Tsuna was tempted to say that Kyouya enjoyed waking to Tsuna’s presence, because Tsuna would swear that Kyouya’s lips lifted pleasantly when he woke with Tsuna entering the room or sitting and reading in amiable silence.  
“Omnivore, what do you want. I won’t have you disturb my sleep, Kami Korosu.” There was no threat in the words he spoke.  
“How do you feel about being tethered to an omnivorous sky?”  
After a four beat pause, “A cloud needs a home to return to that will give it its freedom.”  
Kyouya had been taking Reborn’s lessons seriously- and Tsuna would find it ever amusing and comforting that Kyouya was also into philosophy.  
Tsuna stood and dusted his pants off before tossing a smirking- closed eyes Kyouya the tether he wished for and denied. The purple tethered ring glinted happily from his middle finger, and Tsuna was sure it would not move. Something as prised as the disciplinary band pinned to his flowing black jacket. ‘The aloof, drifting cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint and who nothing can ever bind.’ Tsuna was amazed again how contradicting, yet embodying his guardians were of their sudden duties. Must be fate right?  
As Tsuna was walking to his room, figuring Lambo was just waking from his –not allowed by Nana- nap he was charged and stopped by a blinding aura of yellow that stunned him from his chest outward.  
“Tsuna! I heard from tako-head TO THE EXTREME that you have something to give me!” his voice wasn’t as loud as his aura, but Ryohei always had that warm air to him that proved to lull Tsuna and make him feel healed inside and out.  
“Ah, did Hayato say anything else?”  
“Yes! Tako-head said I was not ALLOWED to refuse, TO THE EXTREME!!” and so Tsuna sighed and smiled.  
“Do you want to refuse?”  
“Not a chance Tsuna. You are family. I protect my family. It is as simple as that.”  
Tsuna couldn’t argue with that. He didn’t want to. He threw Ryohei the yellow knotted ring and could only hear exclamations of ‘EXTREME’ echo and shake the house as Ryohei went for his ‘pre-dinner run’ and Tsuna made his way to his own room for the final Guardian. Ryohei certainly is the type to ‘destroy the misfortune that attacks the famiglia with his own body’. He will certainly become ‘the sun that shines upon an area.’  
The soft creak of the door was all that told those within the room that Tsuna had entered, of course, since the only occupant of the room was asleep, Tsuna supposed it didn’t really matter.  
To Tsuna’s chagrin, Reborn was keeping his promise to top standards, he had begun to train Lambo from the start, and it was brutal, unforgiving and gentle.  
Apparently all of Tsuna’s siblings has interesting heritage, I-Pin and Lambo were the children of the youngest Bovino family daughter who’s partner was a Chinese martial artist killed by the Chinese Triad when he had refused to help them with the child smuggling operations. She had fled to Japan to have her children- knowing they would be hunted by enemies, or killed by her father- where they were adopted almost immediately by Tsuna’s mother. Because of his both had ‘incredible potential’ that according to Reborn would be a waste not to expand and build on. Within days of Tsuna’s acceptance of being boss I-pin had been put in contact with a martial arts teacher and Lambo had been put through his own paces. Fury bubbled within Tsuna every time he thought about it; because Reborn used electricity to power Lambo’s training. But, every time Tsuna tried to stop it, tried to get in the middle he was thrown out, shot at and beaten within an inch of unconsciousness, his weakness used as kindling for Lambo’s growing, burning resolve.  
“I will protect you Tsuna-nii; Lambo-sama is fine.”  
And how could he argue with that.  
Of course, Fuuta did not escape the training. His lineage was special and strange. He came from a long line of Italians known for their intelligence and ‘psychic’ abilities. Soon after finding this information out Reborn contacted his ‘friend’ and had them contact Fuuta. The boy was taken out of school and home-schooled in a private school that was specific for Mafia-children with special characteristics. Soon enough the boy would harness his amazing abilities, and he had promised Tsuna up-down-left-right-and-around that he would be safe and would tell his ‘Tsuna-nii’ if he didn’t like or want to do it anymore. Of course, that didn’t really sooth Tsuna, and not even knowing Lambo and I-pin would join Fuuta in September was able to sooth him any.  
Stroking fluffy, untamed black hair Tsuna slid the green roped ring onto Lambo’s finger. It almost slid off but Tsuna saw the sudden tightness of Lambo’s fist around the ring. The boy would not leave it. “I love you Lambo, please be strong. I will protect you too.” Kissing the boy’s forehead, Tsuna thought about the position and its suitability; fair to say with no exaggeration that Tsuna did not like it at all. ‘To draw damage to himself and away from the famiglia, serving as a lightning rod.’ No, Tsuna didn’t like it at all.  
As Tsuna walks away from Lambo’s room, still questioning his sanity. Questioning his weak resolve. Because really, he wants to protect his friends and here he is signing their death certificates and handing their warrants to them as if they were cookies. He really was the worst kind of selfish- he was a destructive selfish that dragged others into his mess. As he was tormented by his thoughts others arose. Others that included the strangeness that was the ever growing fade of the tired and old strings that attached to each ring.  
He watches each day as they all wait for Reborn’s return, and he is amazed by two significant, harshly noticeable things.   
Each one of the rings has four noticeable strings as well as easily forgettable, but respect demanding, red strings, however, one set grows dimmer as the days go on and the new ‘generation’ learns their lessons and grows visibly, metaphorically, and wholly stronger. The strings that seemed to aged and stable, wise beyond Tsuna’s years, seem to dim, grow into the strange dank but burning colour of the other aged strings that originate from the rings’ core. It was strange to Tsuna, seeing as he had never known a fate to weaken so significantly but still remain strong and bright and burning and beautiful.  
The second is the phenomenon that he had only recently learned was possibly. That was fates being dictated by objects.  
Each one of his guardians wore the ring everyday without exception. Every morning Tsuna would see the rings either on his guardians ringers, or stashed on chains hanging around their necks (the case for Ryohei and Takeshi due to sports, and Chrome because her fingers were slim and the ring caused her issues with day to day life). But as the days went on Tsuna noticed, to his astonishment and awe, that the two main strings, their own and the aged core strings, were beginning to sink their roots and solidify their influence into his guardians.  
For those who wore their rings on their right middle finger, the strings webbed out, almost completely covering the ring itself as it webbed and cling around the finger and in some cases- Takeshi(when not on the necklace), Mukuro, Hibari, and Hayato- even as far as to web over their hand and wrists. It was eerie and creepy, but it looked like spiders webs, and Tsuna wouldn’t be surprised if the strings wove under his guardians’ skin too.  
For those who wore the rings on necklaces, the strings wove around the chains the rings lived on, and eventually spidered and webbed up their neck and around their throat, on Chrome, the strings made a delicate lacy pattern all over her throat and over her collar bones, it looked like some dark, beautiful gothic neck piece, though, Tsuna could see that it unnerved Mukuro form time to time- it looked like some demented choke-collar. As if they were dogs for Tsuna’s bidding and abuse.  
Reborn arrived promptly within a week. Though he was cunningly curt, Tsuna saw the approval, and soon enough they dove headlong into their training. It was brutal, dangerous, and numerous times Tsuna screamed and tore verbally at Reborn to ‘slow down’ and ‘can’t you see you’re killing them!’  
Of course Reborn took all of it, used to the desperate, pathetic screeching of baby-bosses or trying to teach Tsuna, he responded with cold, calculating eyes staring into Tsuna’s and not breaking contact. “Are you sure you’re not the one killing them, Boss?”  
It took two weeks for Tsuna to get over that one.  
All the other guardians were off doing their own, private training. It had been a month and they were all strong, stable, and had a constitution strong as diamond and flexible as clay. It was a beautiful thing to see and feel for Reborn between his hands. But today he was concentrating on Tsuna. Something he felt a rush and excitement in doing. Tsuna was always the most responsive, the most satisfying and fulfilling to train.  
Tsuna stood in the middle of a rocky outcropping. His eyes were closed and his body lithe and relaxed. He had filled out satisfyingly over the month. He wasn’t all hard and scarred, nor was he lean and averagely strengthened. No, Tsuna was magnificent. He was just perfect for where he should be. A familiar weight pulled at Reborn’s hand as his partner settled into the familiar green form in his readied hand; Leon knew his mind as well as Reborn himself did.  
Slicing air and moving strings touched Tsuna’s far right perception. Moving, simply turning his body to the right, Tsuna avoided three bullets as they sliced past him and hit solid rock. The feeling was rushing, like adrenalin, but at the same time, feeling like sight. It was a rush, a mystery. Completely and utterly natural.  
“Good Tsuna, feel that. Find the bullets. Find the place to move. Find your blood rite.”  
Tsuna opened his eyes. Reborn was satisfied to see them burning a bright, flaming, warm orange hue unnatural to the living, organic world. Only in the mafia, only in Vongola was such beauty possible.  
“What blood rite, Reborn?” his voice was tinting with calm, self-assured depth. Just a little more.  
“You’re Hyper-intuition.”  
Another bullet flew, but this one was not aimed to teach. The bullet twirled and spun and hit flesh with a hard knock and slammed Tsuna into the opposing rock with such force a large fissure found its way to the crest of the rocky cliff.  
“Reborn, that wasn’t nice.” Sombre, self-assured tone met Reborn’s trained ears, and with a sizzle and satisfactory warmth he watched warm brown blend and glow into warm, endless orange that offset the bloodied setting sun. The tone was deep and warm and all-encompassing.  
“I’m here to train you, Dame-Tsuna, not to be nice.”  
Fedora pulled down, relieved, reassure smile covered, reborn continued his training. So much to do in so little time. “Just perfect.”

XXXXX

Reborn watched; he saw Tsuna fight and Tsuna cry. He watched the guardians break and the guardians be built up yet again. He couldn’t pinpoint the feeling bubbling in his chest; he couldn’t tell you, or even himself, the name of the emotion he felt when he saw how hard Tsuna was fighting this fate. But he liked it. It made him feel unbeatable.   
Reborn was the kind of man who looked down on boys who boasted about protecting their friends and families, who were busting at the seams with some kind of artificial glory that they were strong enough to protect their loves from everything. Reborn had shot many of those men and had found some grim, psychotic pleasure in ending their lives. They were a danger to themselves, and those they ‘promised to protect’ but Reborn was a Hitman, so maybe it was just another thrill of the kill. Reborn had seen many of them crumble and give up, Reborn had even seen some of these men sacrifice their loves for their own lives when it came to the knit and grit. But Reborn had never seen someone like Tsuna, never had there been anyone who could restore or ignite faith in the words of man, because Reborn knew the boy –Tsuna- would become a man of his word. Already as he fought and trained, it protected his guardians- his dearest friends and family- and Reborn couldn’t even harbour the idea that this boy would abandon them for his own hide.   
Now, after watching Tsuna, Reborn had found his faith in the words of another. What amazed him, made him tingle with glee and intrigue was the fact that for all his life he has never truly had a resolve, only ever living for himself and the next hit. Now, strange and new, the feeling of soul-deep terror filled his blood whenever Tsuna was hurt. Each time a guardians dropped to the floor fatigued he felt himself chill. Something new and burning hot with furious flicks of roaring energy bubbled and flamed under his skin and in his chest whenever he watched this new ‘Decimo Generation’ fight and learn and try. Reborn realised to his amazement that it was resolve, and a resolve stronger than any he had had before. He had found it in Tsuna and his guardians. And wasn’t it ironic, Reborn had taught about resolve to many a new boss, but here he was, unable to recognise it in even himself.  
“R-Reborn. W-what are you trying to teach us.” Tsuna was panting, sitting on the dusted stone floor surrounded by the equally tired guardians.  
“I’m trying to give you your resolve Tsuna; I’m giving you the chance to find the will to fight.” Reborn’s words may have been curt and hard but Tsuna read behind them, the string of colourless wonder waved and twisted and sparkled with hues so vibrant Tsuna knew that Reborn was only trying to help; was desperate to help and make Tsuna and his friends strong enough for the world they had been thrown into.  
Tsuna smiled a soft smile that warmed everyone to the core and ignited protective, diamond-hardened resolve within every person who saw it.  
“Reborn, I found my resolve long ago.”  
Fedora down and Leon lowered, Reborn couldn’t help but smirk. Everything just felt so right all of a sudden.

XXXXX  
XXXXSix Months LaterXXXX

They sat in Tsuna’s office, one Reborn had given Tsuna when the boy took the role seriously and demanded that he had more influence over decision that would be eventually his, and Tsuna couldn’t help but smile despite the fact that this was a serious meeting.   
It was six months ago that Tsuna and his fated friends were found by Reborn. It was only half a years ago that Tsuna’s schooling shifted from business studies and philosophy to an entirely different kind of business studies and philosophy with weaponry on the side. It had been less than a year, and Tsuna could not even describe the site before him.  
Tsuna watched the chests of his seven guardians, and his father by all rights but blood smiled. Tsuna never considered himself a bright or colourful person, he liked earthy tones, neutrals that reminded him of forestry or sand, though considering Tsuna also never really believed in fate or destiny, and here he was completely and wholeheartedly indebted to the fate strings currently tightened around himself and the eight people in front of him, he supposed that this turn of events from liking neutral colours to bright and bold ones wasn’t so strange was it?   
Tsuna, someone who started out not believing or wanting to believe in fate and destiny now chased it, all the while not believing that these strings were necessarily such, he did know they were tangible, they were real and he was going to chase them, because so far as he was concerned they had been nothing but a blessing to him.  
Faith called the coloured strings around him the ‘red strings of fate’, but Tsuna was more inclined to call them ‘intuition’ something that Reborn was constantly calling his blood rite, and maybe that’s what these were, each string telling him something, either about his fated friends or about someone new, in some far away land. Whatever the case, Tsuna could only thank it, because this kaleidoscope before him was worth more to him than anything in the world.  
“Tsuna, we have to prepare soon.” Hayato’s words were tense, but his tone was loving and warm. This meeting was serious, but they had confidence in each other and Reborn, so they had little to worry about yet.  
Tsuna sat at the head of the room, back rested gently against the black leather and arms rested comfortably against the cherry wood desk that was etched with age and wear of bosses since passed. His friends sat in the various couches stationed in a circle around the room, and though it wasn’t anything as official as it looked, each of them sat in the same place every time they met within the walls of Tsuna’s office; whether that be for personal or professional business.  
Hayato sat to Tsuna’s right, always poised, but relaxed with one arm stretched behind him- along the couch’s back- and one arm in his lap nursing a cigarette or a glass of wine. Sharing the love seat with Takeshi- who would always sling his arms over the back and stretch his exceptionally long legs- would always spark an argument that usually ended with smirks and calm laughter from either the arguing pair, or the others stationed in the room.  
“When are these ‘threats’ suppose to arrive?” a warm smile was spread across Takeshi's face, because he had confidence born from Tsuna that everything would be alright.  
Ryohei would always sit to Takeshi's right, sitting in one of two four seated couches in the room, loud and bright as always. Sitting in a lazy and relaxed position, using the room the couch boasted to almost sit spread eagle, he and Takeshi usually debated about sports and their personal choices in fighting technique, but always they were smiling, brightening and cleansing the mafia and personal stress from their friends.  
“Are they really that strong, Reborn?” Ryohei was lazily watching the Hitman with a practiced confidence in his words and action. No longer were any of Tsuna’s friends aggressive towards the Hitman, now he was part of their little family, and if someone threatened one of them (Even Reborn), everyone fought together to protect the one threatened.  
Reborn always sat front and center, directly opposite from Tsuna’s desk where Tsuna usually sat during meetings, he took up half of the couch, and Tsuna often wondered why neither Ryohei nor Kyouya ever complained; but Tsuna supposed that was the charm and power of the most dangerous Hitman in the world.  
“They should arrive in a few months, but the real war won’t start for at least six. We have time to perfect your technique.” Reborn’s smirk was warm despite himself. He was getting soft, but it was ever so easy to do around his current company.  
Kyouya sat to Reborn’s right, taking great relief in being a distance from everyone, but still being accepted and able to feel a part of the conversations in the room, he was still cold and aloof even after the two years together, but he wouldn’t be Kyouya if he were not.  
“Herbivore, are they as strong as you say they are?”   
Next to Kyouya were Mukuro and Chrome, sitting next to Kyouya and Lambo respectively. While Chrome was still shy and quiet, she had opened up pleasingly, openly laughing and smiling, and when courage was on a high she would even argue a point. Mukuro was still cold and cruel, but instead of baring his fangs at Tsuna’s guardians, trying to protect Tsuna from those who he still felt were not doing justice to pay back everything Tsuna had done for them, he bore them at enemies fighting against Tsuna, and by default the entire family. Tsuna couldn’t have been happier to have the ‘twins’ together but separate at the same time.  
“Kufufufufu, really Skylark, you should listen to Reborn. I’m sure they’ll be strong enough to use your shiny sticks against.” Tsuna almost laughed outwardly when Kyouya reddened under the collar and twitched for his tonfu.  
“Mukuro... don’t tease Kyouya.”  
Lambo always sat to Tsuna’s left, usually kneeling on the couch and leaning over the arm to be closer to Tsuna. He was personally the closest to Tsuna by far, and when Tsuna had no business at his desk he sat next to Lambo on the couch, if only to keep strengthening the familial bonds that were once so private. Lambo still had his arrogant attitude, but it was softer now that he had spent a good year with more matured people, and he was the most loyal and understanding of all of Tsuna’s guardians. Thought Tsuna supposed this was more due to the fact Lambo had been with Tsuna since he was born.  
“Tsuna-nii, I’m bored, when will Fuuta and I-pin get here?” Lambo couldn’t help but be bored; he still didn’t fully understand the complexities of the situation.  
“Fuuta and I-pin don’t get here until this afternoon, just be patient.”  
Of course, where his guardians sat didn’t matter, what matters to Tsuna was what happened when they sat. It never happened immediately, but after only a minute did the image began to glow with the love and trust shared between the men and women in the room, and it was truly breathtaking for Tsuna to witness. Breathtaking, when one considers that Tsuna’s ability to see and read the fate strings had increased exponentially over the year, and would continue to do so as he aged and learnt.  
From each person one thick, long, bright fate string reached towards Tsuna and wrapped around his chest three times- and when he looked in the mirror didn’t he just look like a child’s attempt to colour a rainbow without lines- and the knotless orange string found its way all the way down each individual string, twisting and weaving itself into the individuals threads irreparably; Tsuna’s orange fate string wrapped itself around the owner’s chest five times before breaching from them and encircling the entire group. While that in itself was amazing, it was that happened in-between that amazed Tsuna the most.  
From each guardian fate strings reached out, visible and bright in the short distance, and dyed to visibility by the love, trust, and emotions diffused in the air of Tsuna’s office. While not everyone had a fate string attached to them from everyone else, there were a variety of thicknesses and brightness when a fate string was attached.  
First was the fact that a fate string connected the circle on the far outside, weaving and strengthening the metaphoric boundary Tsuna’s own string created, from Tsuna to Hayato; from Hayato to Takeshi; from Takeshi to Ryohei; from Ryohei to Reborn; from Reborn to Kyouya; from Kyouya to Mukuro and Chrome; and from Mukuro and Chrome to Lambo before finally reaching from Lambo to Tsuna so that a rainbow of colours in order formed a very lopsided rainbow; orange, red, blue, yellow, bright-orange-yellow-nameless, purple, indigo(x2), and green. That is where the personal fates filled the rough circle made by the branches of strings and formed an image of love, trust and fate that Tsuna wished he could share with the world.  
Tsuna could see the connections within the strings, such as the thick line from Ryohei to Lambo, or from Lambo to Takeshi. He could see the thin line from Hayato to Mukuro and from Chrome to Kyouya and the heavy line from Takeshi to Kyouya. There was a somewhat strained line from Kyouya to Reborn, and Tsuna could only imagine that was Hibari’s personality bleeding into his fate. What was beautiful was that while Ryohei and Mukuro did not share a fate string, they shared a fate, simply because they were a part of his beautiful, shifting, evolving circle, and Tsuna just felt whole when he could watch the shifting lines.  
Of course, Tsuna wasn’t ignorant to the other strings, while none of them were as intimate and consequential as the colourful rainbow wrapping around the men and woman’s chests, there were a multitude of red strings branching out from each guardians’ arms and legs, and Tsuna was happy to note that each one of them had a red string wrapped around their wrists, signifying each of them had a fated partner somewhere in the world. When Tsuna looked at the overall image of the red strings of normal fate, he couldn’t help but think it looked like a giant, old tree reaching for the heavens where he was the roots that kept them together; how pleasing an image it was.  
But one thing was far more beautiful, and that was Reborn’s fate string. While the others were more subtle about whose fate they affected, Reborn’s string dove to the center of the mass of fate lines, and then branched out suddenly, as if chasing every fate connection and enforcing it, but that was the beauty of Reborn’s fate line, it wasn’t a specific colour, and so it blended in with everyone; a chameleon in its own rite. While Reborn may not have been the one to get them together, he certainly had a hand in where they were today and the connections they had made.  
Tsuna often wondered if Reborn could actually see the fate strings as Tsuna did, and while Reborn never denied nor confirmed Tsuna’s subtle prompting, he knew Reborn must have some kind of sight-possibly like Kyouya’s ability, a feel rather than a sight-, because no matter how subtle or well hidden, Tsuna could see Reborn was manipulating their fates; not to make them happen so much as to strengthen what was already happening.  
“So, Tsuna,” Reborn started, as if prompted by Tsuna’s warm and trusting thoughts about him, a ‘speak of the devil moment’. “How do you plan to end this confrontation?”  
And Tsuna couldn’t be happier that Reborn was doing it, because Tsuna couldn’t always be there when a thread started to fray, but at least Reborn was there, and his guardians were there too to prevent fraying from starting, and they would never leave;  
“We will fight these Varia and will win.” Tsuna word’s leaked confidence and trust. Because he was surrounded by his family, he was surrounded by strings, and he had faith in the strings if not in their meanings.  
Because no matter how inevitable the red string snapping seemed, it would never break it would only ever fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read this story. This is dedicated to those who saw its potential as a one-shot. I hope this makes up for the face that I’ve continued despite some people not liking the idea.  
> Thank you, thank you, thank you.  
> ~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3


	9. Never broken, only frayed (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that some people preferred this as a one-off fic with Tsuna and his guardians, and I feel that they deserve the ending they wanted (my original ending) so here it is. This chapter is only for the people who don’t want to read the sequel, who wanted this story as just this and nothing more. Of course you can read it if you’re interested in what the ending was originally meant to be, but it’ll be rather repetitive of the official ending of this fic now.  
> Thank you; please excuse my atrocious spelling, grammar, and use of tense.

Tsuna had been astounded by what was happening, because it didn’t really seem real. Not until Reborn handed him the small mahogany box, embossed with the elegant, refined crest of Vongola. The box that held the rings that proved Tsuna’s position and ensured his seat in Vongola’s throne.  
His friends had gone to bed, it was late, going on twelve, no one really had the time or energy to spend in the living room that evening, Reborn had just run them through their paces.  
He was a strict teacher. But he was kind and selfless. He was keeping his promise, and though they cursed and moaned and spat, Tsuna knew each one of his guardians was aware of that fact too. He was trying to make them strong, keep them standing. Keep them alive.  
Tsuna was reading over some of the documents regarding Vongola’s history, and it was fair to say with no exaggeration that Tsuna was disgusted and scared. It was such a dark, bloodies history, so many deaths and so much corruption. He imagined that Giotto was turning and writhing in his grave, crying tears only the dead and hindsight could shed. Reborn walked in with a grim expression and a little box.  
He knelt before Tsuna, proud, poised and submissive. While the others would have scoffed at the thought of a submissive Reborn, Tsuna knew otherwise. Reborn was always submissive when they were alone, submissive but true, and he put Tsuna in his place- though rare given Tsuna’s personality and resolve- when he became too lenient or too unaware of his surroundings and his declaration of bosshood. As he knelt, on his right knee with a stiff, proud and strong back, his fedora was pulled off in his free hand.  
Tsuna found deep eyes looking back at him. They were far too deep, deeper than the colour should really allow. But they were magnificent. They sent thrills and power diving into Tsuna, because they were just those kind of eyes. Open, truthful with the right people and they told the promises the owner could not speak.  
“I know you decided who your guardians are. I know you will not change your mind. I know you know I approve. But others will not. Take these. Give them to your guardians and show the world, tell Vongola exactly who you are- who you all are- and what it is your going to do.” Reborn was terse and tense, but when Tsuna watched him, never taking his eyes away, listening to Reborn and to no one else, well, Reborn found himself delightfully free.  
“Reborn...” Tsuna took the box, amazed and awed by the feeling bubbling and cresting in his chest. As wrong and strange as it felt, it was amazing and breathtaking to have this much power under his wing, to have such an amazing man under his command. But at the same time, he did not feel that Reborn was under his command. Instead, Tsuna felt that Reborn was his comrade. Was his equal, his equivalent, the same, his friend, his family.  
Taking the dark box with soft, gentle fingers, Tsuna ran his eyes first over the worn, carved surface. It was beautiful really, though there were stains all over it, ones he could tell, from feel and from the red trying and dying the surface that many lives had been lost to protect and dispatch the box, for he knew the stains were the blood of those sacrificed.  
Moving with delicate care, Tsuna gently unravelled the red strings that were invisible to Reborn, but were painfully physical for him. They were tight, keeping the box closed and safe, it was obvious that the strings had followed this box its entire life and had seen more tragedy that it did joy. He knew his movements would be strange to Reborn, after all who would untie invisible strings? But Tsuna knew he had to be gentle, felt he needed to be intrinsically respectful of the red strings, because they signaled both the ending and the beginning of countless people’s fates.  
When the strings floated away, resting in the air around the box, ready to rewrap it once Tsuna’s ministrations were complete, Tsuna opened the lid. Inside was a beautiful sight.   
Eight rings sat within the red satin, bold and contrasting and beautiful.  
“These are the Vongola rings. They represent the coming generation. You and your guardians each wear one, and with them no one can deny that you are the Decimo.” Reborn passed, hope, fear, warmth flowing freely from his colourless string and even strength flowing from his face and body. “I’ll be back in a few days. I hope by then, Dame-Tsuna, that you will have chosen your guardians wisely.”  
With that and a confident backwards wave Reborn left through the front door, as if he owned the house. Which, Tsuna supposed, he kind of did. Though Tsuna wished he didn’t leave so soon, because Tsuna had a hundred thousand questions ringing in his brain and now they would be left unsatisfying unanswered.  
Tsuna took the time to look over each ring, picking it up, memorising each curve each stain each beautiful sketching and each string that connected and encased the rings that were curiously shaped- as if missing a vital part of themselves.  
First Tsuna removed the largest, central ring form its place. The ring was circular, obviously meant to be the boss’ ring; it was the most colourful and brilliant of all the others. In the center was a large, blue gem that glimmered, and when the light hit just right as Tsuna rotated and observed the ring, the Vongola crest was visible from behind the gem. The words ‘Vongola‘ and ‘Famiglia‘ were pressed into the metal surrounding the ring along with six tiny, rectangular gems that were red, blue and yellow on one side, and green, indigo and violet on the other. Tsuna knew then that the rings were more precious in value than everything in Tsuna’s home combined, maybe even more valuable than the home itself. They were antiques, he could tell, and they had been worn well. There were scratches over the surface, they were worn in places, but still exuded this mighty aura of power.  
What interested Tsuna the most were the strings. A plethora of red knots lined the ring’s curve, knotting, lacing, weaving before fluttering away, Tsuna could almost not see the silver of the metal, though he knew that it was there and it was what everyone else would see. However, amongst the red were three orange strings.   
One was Tsuna’s. That was obvious enough. He knew by now, after eighteen years of wearing the orange, glittering burningly brilliant string that the hue wrapping in a figure eight around the blue gem was his.   
The second was a duller orange, darker, and Tsuna would say more of a red hue than a yellow. It was pretty, strong, and glowed with a brilliance that made Tsuna wish he glowed as steadily; almost as if the string were wise and aged. This string was wrapped around the ring’s curve and darted quickly into the surrounding air before disappearing after two meters.   
Finally, the third was thick, it was a brilliant orange that rivaled even the oranges of the sun set as the sun dipped and slept. The glittering, burning, flaming orange burned into Tsuna’s mind, it made him want to wrap the string around his very soul it was so warm that it almost hurt. So beautiful in fact that it was near breathtaking. This string seemed to originate from the ring’s core itself. It came from the crest behind the gem and instead of wrapping and knotting before flickering away it was incorporated into every string (there were seven others and ten including the two other orange) red or otherwise solidifying the fates of the bound strings to wear the ring and die by it.   
Despite the chill that settled into Tsuna’s bones when he thought of that, it was so beautiful that Tsuna wanted to cry.  
Instinctively Tsuna slipped the ring onto his right hand, directly onto his middle finger, and the fit was almost natural. The ring was heavy with fate. Each string weighed on the metal base, and Tsuna’s own fate was heavier still, because his fate was laden with questions and uncertainties.  
Tsuna picked up another ring. This one was far less grand, it too was oddly shaped, looking to be a shield. Pressed into the metal with delicate care was what looked to be clams and a storm cloud. Surrounding the ring were red strings again, but there were three that seemed so much more brilliant than the bland, tired strings of ordinary fate.   
One was a dull brilliance much like the stable orange of the ‘Sky’ ring, it held that aged wisdom that only the aged could possess, and it held an heir of inapproachability, much like someone who had seen too much in its years. It was as if the fate string was tired. This string held a glinting darkness and whiteness to it, very bright and very bold.  
Second was a tired string. It was thick and originated from the storming shape in the center of the sting, within the rope were pink strands and strands f black, the scent of gunpowder wafted around the string and it too incorporated into all the other strings.  
Finally was a string Tsuna knew all too well. Glittering with silver threads, the string was thick and wrapped in a figure eight around the shield of the string. Standing up from the couch, the box- now closed- resting safely under his arm, Tsuna followed the glittering, warm red string upstairs and towards the study where he was certain a certain bomber had secluded himself.  
Opening the door and walking towards the slanted window on the far side, Tsuna sat himself before Hayato. The looped red and silver string gave a jerk of light and Hayato looked up on instinct, feeling- completely subconsciously- the tug of fate as Tsuna took his seat.  
When green greeted brown, and a smile tugged at soft, pale lips, Tsuna watched as the smile fell and a shocked, painful expression filtered in instead. Hayato was staring at the extended ring in Tsuna’s hand.  
“Tsuna, do you know what that is?” Hayato’s breath was testing, trying not to show pain, but trying not to give off that trained-in shallow chill the mafia demanded Hayato own.  
“Yes and no. I know that this signified a member of my family.” Tsuna replied carefully. He always found these word games tiring, and Tsuna imagined that Hayato was trying to teach him in his own subtle I-can’t-teach-others-for-shit kind of way.  
“This is the storm ring. It signifies the Vongola boss’ right-hand man and storm guardian.”  
“Ah, I knew roughly that.”  
“Then why are you-“  
“Gokudera Hayato, will you do me the honours of being my right-hand and storm?” for some reason Tsuna knew that this boy-man was going to grow and grow strong. He could think of no other to be ‘continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious storm that never rests.’  
Hayato was speechless of course. Though he had decided long ago to follow Tsuna wherever he decided to go, never had he imagined that Tsuna would choose him, him, to be the right-hand of Vongola. Hayato could only be honoured, awed, and let the tears well and fall. He had never been so relieved. He would not lie to himself; it made him sick to even think of anyone at Tsuna’s side but him and their family.  
It took Tsuna an entire hour to get Hayato calm enough to take the ring, and it was slid delicately onto Hayato’s long, right middle finger immediately after. Hayato would continue to question Tsuna’s decision for the week. Then he would simply put the effort into become the greatest right-hand in Vongola’s history.  
“Now,” Tsuna began, “tell me more about these rings...”  
After another hour of explanation, and some information about the characteristic of each ring and each guardian, Hayato excused himself to make dinner, and Tsuna excused himself too. A smile played on his lips as he fingered the ring with the tear-drop design.  
“I have a duty to fulfil.” He murmured as he left the bomber.  
“See you at dinner, Juudaime.” Tsuna laughed, because Hayato joked about never calling him Tsuna again. Tsuna had relented, “Only when we have ‘professional’ company Hayato.”  
Tsuna spun the blue stringed ring. Again it had three strings that seemed to mirror the ones on the other two rings. They were so odd and yet beautiful. Tsuna decided, as he looked in the box when Hayato was explaining various things, not to dwell on the other string yet, Tsuna followed the familiar string that held so much more than just blue.  
“Takeshi can I talk to you?”  
Tsuna entered Takeshi's room to find the teen polishing his sword. Reborn had started to train him in swordsmanship, giving him the bare essentials before telling him to confront his father if he wanted to get stronger. That had been a week ago.  
“Sure Tsuna, what can I do for you?”  
“I want to ask you how much you are willing to give up for this mafia thing.” Tsuna was serious and Takeshi appreciated it; seldom were people - at school or home- serious with him.  
“For you and this ‘family’ Tsuna, I’m willing to forfeit my life- but I will fight to stay alive to have more fun times with everyone.” With laughter in his voice Tsuna knew all was well and that he had followed the right string to his left hand.  
“Then Takeshi will you be my,” he punctuated his speech with thought, ‘blessed shower that settles conflict and washed everything away’, “rain guardian?”  
Takeshi stood; his stare harsh and deep to Tsuna’s eyes. The browns were so warm and serious that Tsuna was left without words to describe them, but his body moved to where his words could not. His hand extended the ring and Takeshi took it and slid it onto his right hand.  
“I’ll be back for dinner Tsuna, can you tall Hayato he’ll have to cook with Chrome tonight?” Takeshi asked. He grabbed his sword and a spare bat-bag where he slid the sword into and slung the whole thing onto his shoulder.  
“Sure, you going to see your father?” Tsuna’s smile returned, and Takeshi knew –though he already intrinsically knew anyway - that he was taking the right path.  
“Ah, I think it’s time he passed the family tradition down to me.”  
With that he was gone and Tsuna was on the way to see the troublesome twins.  
“Kufufufu, it took you long enough to get to us Tsunayoshi.” Mukuro chuckled as Tsuna entered Mukuro’s room and took a seat on one of the soft black couches in the corner. He hadn’t bothered to knock; the door would have been locked if Mukuro didn’t want any intruders. Either way, Tsuna was always welcomed into the dark room.  
“Sorry Mukuro, I don’t play favourites, but if word got around to my right and left that they weren’t the first people to get their rings it would have hurt them more than I could ever heal properly.”  
Tsuna relaxed back, tempted to take Chrome’s offer of coffee.  
“I think Tsuna’s right, Mukuro, you know how Hayato and Takeshi are, besides, you had no doubt that Tsuna would choose us.”  
“Eavesdropping in the living room again last night Mukuro?”  
Mukuro had the decency to look a little embarrassed. But Tsuna couldn’t even find it in himself to feel mad. This was Mukuro after all. If Mukuro was concerned enough to hide his presence to protect Tsuna, well could Tsuna really rebuff him and yell? It made him feel loved to know he had a guardian that would go to such great lengths.  
“Do I have to ask?”  
“I wouldn’t think so, Tsunayoshi.” With that Tsuna reached into the box for the ring with the darkest indigo strings- though they still contained the lightened threads of his fate partner- and handed the silver jewellery off to Mukuro who promptly slipped it onto his finger and laughed in a way that warmed Tsuna.  
“And you Chrome?”  
“Do you really want me in your famiglia, Tsuna?”  
“Without a doubt.”  
“Then I don’t think you need to ask.”  
With that Chrome’s own ring was placed gently into her outstretched hand and Tsuna left with the sideways comment to Chrome asking her to help Hayato with dinner. Mukuro held the official Vongola ring, the one that had once belonged to Daemon Spade, but Chrome held a ring just as official. Chrome wore Elena’s ring, one that had been forged on Giotto’s word when the woman became an integral part of the growing family. It was a more delicate ring with a thinner band and a ore stylised design on its shielded top.  
“Of course Tsuna, I’ll go downstairs to help now.”  
“Kufufufu, maybe I’ll go help too.”  
“I’d like to ask that you don’t Mukuro, repainting the walls and replacing the oven again is expensive and time-consuming.”  
Laughter followed Tsuna out of Mukuro’s room and into the hall. ‘Creating something from nothing, and nothing from something, thus bewildering the enemy and rendering the Famiglia’s true form intangible with visions of deceit.’ Tsuna found that his two guardians embodied and contradicted the ideal.  
Tsuna was tempted to disturb Ryohei’s training to give him his ring, but something told him that Kyouya would be the closest at hand at the moment. Seeing as the purple string was tightening warmly around his chest, Tsuna followed it out onto the rooftop where Kyouya was snoozing peacefully on the ground, arms folded behind his head and eyelids flittering relaxedly.  
Tsuna took a seat next to Kyouya. He was the only member of the household- besides maybe Takeshi when Kyouya was feeling amiable- that could (was allowed it was up for debate) to sit with and disturb the pale, black-haired teen from his sleep. In fact, Tsuna was tempted to say that Kyouya enjoyed waking to Tsuna’s presence, because Tsuna would swear that Kyouya’s lips lifted pleasantly when he woke with Tsuna entering the room or sitting and reading in amiable silence.  
“Omnivore, what do you want? I won’t have you disturb my sleep, Kami Korosu.” There was no threat in the words he spoke, instead there was only deep acceptance and invitation.  
“How do you feel about being tethered to an omnivorous sky?”  
After a four beat pause, “A cloud needs a home to return to that will give it its freedom.”  
Kyouya had been taking Reborn’s lessons seriously- and Tsuna would find it ever amusing and comforting that Kyouya was also into philosophy. They had sat down in late evening more than once to debate over various topics that held no true answer. The debates were quiet and collected, but it balanced them both. Often their debates were over situations Reborn had given them, situations they would inevitably find themselves in in the near future with Tsuna as boss. Kyouya’s clear head and unbiased views soothed and guided Tsuna towards decisions that weren’t too ethically or morally challenging or damaging.  
Tsuna stood and dusted his pants off before tossing a smirking- closed eyes Kyouya the tether he wished for and denied. The purple tethered ring glinted happily from his middle finger, and Tsuna was sure it would not move. Something as prised as the disciplinary band pinned to his flowing black jacket. ‘The aloof, drifting cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint and who nothing can ever bind.’ Tsuna was amazed again how contradicting, yet embodying his guardians were of their sudden duties. Must be fate right?  
As Tsuna was walking to his room, figuring Lambo was just waking from his –not allowed by Nana- nap he was charged and stopped by a blinding aura of yellow that stunned him from his chest outward.  
“Tsuna! I heard from tako-head TO THE EXTREME that you have something to give me!” his voice wasn’t as loud as his aura, but Ryohei always had that warm air to him that proved to lull Tsuna and make him feel healed inside and out.  
“Ah, did Hayato say anything else?”  
“Yes! Tako-head said I was not ALLOWED to refuse, TO THE EXTREME!!” and so Tsuna sighed and smiled.  
“Do you want to refuse?”  
“Not a chance Tsuna. You are family. I protect my family. It is as simple as that.”  
Tsuna couldn’t argue with that. He didn’t want to. He threw Ryohei the yellow knotted ring and could only hear exclamations of ‘EXTREME’ echo and shake the house as Ryohei went for his ‘pre-dinner run’ and Tsuna made his way to his own room for the final Guardian. Ryohei certainly is the type to ‘destroy the misfortune that attacks the famiglia with his own body’. He will certainly become ‘the sun that shines upon an area.’  
The soft creek of the door was all that told those within the room that Tsuna had entered, of course, since the only occupant of the room was asleep, Tsuna supposed it didn’t really matter.  
To Tsuna’s chagrin, Reborn was keeping his promise to top standards, he had begun to train Lambo from the start, and it was brutal, unforgiving and gentle.  
Apparently all of Tsuna’s siblings has interesting heritage, I-Pin and Lambo were the children of the youngest Bovino family daughter who’s partner was a Chinese martial artist killed by the Chinese Triad when he had refused to help them with the child smuggling operations. She had fled to Japan to have her children- knowing they would be hunted by enemies, or killed by her father- where they were adopted almost immediately by Tsuna’s mother. Because of his both had ‘incredible potential’ that according to Reborn would be a waste not to expand and build on. Within days of Tsuna’s acceptance of being boss I-pin had been put in contact with a martial arts teacher and Lambo had been put through his own paces. Fury bubbled within Tsuna every time he thought about it; because Reborn used electricity to power Lambo’s training. But, every time Tsuna tried to stop it, tried to get in the middle he was thrown out, shot at and beaten within an inch of unconsciousness, his weakness used as kindling for Lambo’s growing, burning resolve.  
“I will protect you Tsuna-nii; Lambo-sama is fine.”  
And how could he argue with that.  
Of course, Fuuta did not escape the training. His lineage was special and strange. He came from a long line of Italians known for their intelligence and ‘psychic’ abilities. Soon after finding this information out Reborn contacted his ‘friend’ and had them contact Fuuta. The boy was taken out of school and home-schooled in a private school that was specific for Mafia-children with special characteristics. Soon enough the boy would harness his amazing abilities, and he had promised Tsuna up-down-left-right-and-around that he would be safe and would tell his ‘Tsuna-nii’ if he didn’t like or want to do it anymore. Of course, that didn’t really sooth Tsuna, and not even knowing Lambo and I-pin would join Fuuta in September was able to sooth him any.  
Stroking fluffy, untamed black hair Tsuna slid the green roped ring onto Lambo’s finger. It almost slid off but Tsuna saw the sudden tightness of Lambo’s fist around the ring. The boy would not leave it. “I love you Lambo, please be strong. I will protect you too.” Kissing the boy’s forehead, Tsuna thought about the position and its suitability; fair to say with no exaggeration that Tsuna did not like it at all. ‘To draw damage to himself and away from the famiglia, serving as a lightning rod.’ No, Tsuna didn’t like it at all.  
As Tsuna walks away from Lambo’s room, still questioning his sanity. Questioning his weak resolve. Because really, he wants to protect his friends and here he is signing their death certificates and handing their warrants to them as if they were cookies. He really was the worst kind of selfish- he was a destructive selfish that dragged others into his mess. As he was tormented by his thoughts others arose. Others that included the strangeness that was the ever growing fade of the tired and old strings that attached to each ring.  
He watches each day as they all wait for Reborn’s return, and he is amazed by two significant, harshly noticeable things.   
Each one of the rings has four noticeable strings as well as easily forgettable, but respect demanding, red strings, however, one set grows dimmer as the days go on and the new ‘generation’ learns their lessons and grows visibly, metaphorically, and wholly stronger. The strings that seemed to aged and stable, wise beyond Tsuna’s years, seem to dim, grow into the strange dank but burning colour of the other aged strings that originate from the rings’ core. It was strange to Tsuna, seeing as he had never known a fate to weaken so significantly but still remain strong and bright and burning and beautiful.  
The second is the phenomenon that he had only recently learned was possibly. That was fates being dictated by objects.  
Each one of his guardians wore the ring everyday without exception. Every morning Tsuna would see the rings either on his guardians ringers, or stashed on chains hanging around their necks (the case for Ryohei and Takeshi due to sports, and Chrome because her fingers were slim and the ring caused her issues with day to day life). But as the days went on Tsuna noticed, to his astonishment and awe, that the two main strings, their own and the aged core strings, were beginning to sink their roots and solidify their influence into his guardians.  
For those who wore their rings on their right middle finger, the strings webbed out, almost completely covering the ring itself as it webbed and cling around the finger and in some cases- Takeshi(when not on the necklace), Mukuro, Hibari, and Hayato- even as far as to web over their hand and wrists. It was eerie and creepy, but it looked like spiders webs, and Tsuna wouldn’t be surprised if the strings wove under his guardians’ skin too.  
For those who wore the rings on necklaces, the strings wove around the chains the rings lived on, and eventually spidered and webbed up their neck and around their throat, on Chrome, the strings made a delicate lacy pattern all over her throat and over her collar bones, it looked like some dark, beautiful gothic neck piece, though, Tsuna could see that it unnerved Mukuro from time to time- it looked like some demented choke-collar. As if they were dogs for Tsuna’s bidding and abuse.  
Reborn arrived promptly within a week. Though he was cunningly curt, Tsuna saw the approval, and soon enough they dove headlong into their training. It was brutal, dangerous, and numerous times Tsuna screamed and tore verbally at Reborn to ‘slow down’ and ‘can’t you see you’re killing them!’  
Of course Reborn took all of it, used to the desperate, pathetic screeching of baby-bosses or trying to teach Tsuna, he responded with cold, calculating eyes staring into Tsuna’s and not breaking contact. “Are you sure you’re not the one killing them, Boss?”  
It took two weeks for Tsuna to get over that one. It took three for him to eat properly again without images of his massacred friends popping up and sending him skittering to the bathroom.  
All the other guardians were off doing their own, private training. It had been a month and they were all strong, stable, and had a constitution strong as diamond and flexible as clay. It was a beautiful thing to see and feel for Reborn between his hands. But today he was concentrating on Tsuna. Something he felt a rush and excitement in doing. Tsuna was always the most responsive, the most satisfying and fulfilling to train.  
Tsuna stood in the middle of a rocky outcropping. His eyes were closed and his body lithe and relaxed. He had filled out satisfyingly over the month. He wasn’t all hard and scarred, nor was he lean and averagely strengthened. No, Tsuna was magnificent. He was just perfect for where he should be. A familiar weight pulled at Reborn’s hand as his partner settled into the familiar green form in his readied hand; Leon knew his mind as well as Reborn himself did.  
Slicing air and moving strings touched Tsuna’s far right perception. Moving, simply turning his body to the right, Tsuna avoided three bullets as they sliced past him and hit solid rock. The feeling was rushing, like adrenalin, but at the same time, feeling like sight. It was a rush, a mystery. Completely and utterly natural.  
“Good Tsuna, feel that. Find the bullets. Find the place to move. Find your blood rite.”  
Tsuna opened his eyes. Reborn was satisfied to see them burning a bright, flaming, warm orange hue unnatural to the living, organic world. Only in the mafia, only in Vongola was such beauty possible.  
“What blood rite, Reborn?” his voice was tinting with calm, self-assured depth. Just a little more.  
“You’re Hyper-intuition.”  
Another bullet flew, but this one was not aimed to teach. The bullet twirled and spun and hit flesh with a hard knock and slammed Tsuna into the opposing rock with such force a large fissure found its way to the crest of the rocky cliff.  
“Reborn, that wasn’t nice.” Sombre, self-assured tone met Reborn’s trained ears, and with a sizzle and satisfactory warmth he watched warm brown blend and glow into warm, endless orange that offset the bloodied setting sun. The tone was deep and warm and all-encompassing.  
“I’m here to train you, Dame-Tsuna, not to be nice.”  
Fedora pulled down, relieved, reassure smile covered, reborn continued his training. So much to do in so little time. “Just perfect.”

XXXXX

Reborn watched; he saw Tsuna fight and Tsuna cry. He watched the guardians break and the guardians be built up yet again. He couldn’t pinpoint the feeling bubbling in his chest; he couldn’t tell you, or even himself, the name of the emotion he felt when he saw how hard Tsuna was fighting this fate. But he liked it. It made him feel unbeatable.   
Reborn was the kind of man who looked down on boys who boasted about protecting their friends and families, who were busting at the seams with some kind of artificial glory that they were strong enough to protect their loves from everything. Reborn had shot many of those men and had found some grim, psychotic pleasure in ending their lives. They were a danger to themselves, and those they ‘promised to protect’ but Reborn was a Hitman, so maybe it was just another thrill of the kill. Reborn had seen many of them crumble and give up, Reborn had even seen some of these men sacrifice their loves for their own lives when it came to the knit and grit. But Reborn had never seen someone like Tsuna, never had there been anyone who could restore or ignite faith in the words of man, because Reborn knew the boy –Tsuna- would become a man of his word. Already as he fought and trained, it protected his guardians- his dearest friends and family- and Reborn couldn’t even harbour the idea that this boy would abandon them for his own hide.   
Now, after watching Tsuna, Reborn had found his faith in the words of another. What amazed him, made him tingle with glee and intrigue was the fact that for all his life he has never truly had a resolve, only ever living for himself and the next hit. Now, strange and new, the feeling of soul-deep terror filled his blood whenever Tsuna was hurt. Each time a guardians dropped to the floor fatigued he felt himself chill. Something new and burning hot with furious flicks of roaring energy bubbled and flamed under his skin and in his chest whenever he watched this new ‘Decimo Generation’ fight and learn and try. Reborn realised to his amazement that it was resolve, and a resolve stronger than any he had had before. He had found it in Tsuna and his guardians. And wasn’t it ironic, Reborn had taught about resolve to many a new boss, but here he was, unable to recognise it in even himself.  
“R-Reborn. W-what are you trying to teach us.” Tsuna was panting, sitting on the dusted stone floor surrounded by the equally tired guardians.  
“I’m trying to give you your resolve Tsuna; I’m giving you the chance to find the will to fight.” Reborn’s words may have been curt and hard but Tsuna read behind them, the string of colourless wonder waved and twisted and sparkled with hues so vibrant Tsuna knew that Reborn was only trying to help; was desperate to help and make Tsuna and his friends strong enough for the world they had been thrown into.  
Tsuna smiled a soft smile that warmed everyone to the core and ignited protective, diamond-hardened resolve within every person who saw it.  
“Reborn, I found my resolve long ago.”  
Fedora down and Leon lowered, Reborn couldn’t help but smirk. Everything just felt so right all of a sudden.

XXXXX  
XXXX Ten years later XXXX

They sat in Tsuna’s office in the Vongola mansion, they hadn’t abandoned the one that Reborn had given Tsuna all those years ago, but that one was left for casual meetings and trips where Tsuna and his guardians went home to see Nana and their other friends and families. This office was for more serious matters that the official boss faced.  
It was ten years ago that Tsuna and his fated friends were found by Reborn. It was only half a year a year before that, that Tsuna’s schooling shifted from business studies and philosophy to an entirely different kind of business studies and philosophy with weaponry on the side. It had been less than eleven years, and Tsuna could not even describe the site before him.  
Tsuna watched the chests of his seven guardians, and his father by all rights but blood smiled. Tsuna never considered himself a bright or colourful person, he liked earthy tones, neutrals that reminded him of forestry or sand, though considering Tsuna also never really believed in fate or destiny, and here he was completely and wholeheartedly indebted to the fate strings currently tightened around himself and the eight people in front of him, he supposed that this turn of events from liking neutral colours to bright and bold ones wasn’t so strange was it?   
Tsuna, someone who started out not believing or wanting to believe in fate and destiny now chased it, all the while not believing that these strings were necessarily such, he did know they were tangible, they were real and he was going to chase them, because so far as he was concerned they had been nothing but a blessing to him.  
Faith called the coloured strings around him the ‘red strings of fate’, but Tsuna was more inclined to call them ‘intuition’ something that Reborn was constantly calling his blood rite, and maybe that’s what these were, each string telling him something, either about his fated friends or about someone new, in some far away land. Whatever the case, Tsuna could only thank it, because this kaleidoscope before him was worth more to him than anything in the world.  
“Tsuna, we have to prepare soon.” Hayato’s words were tense, but his tone was loving and warm. This meeting was serious, but they had confidence in each other and Reborn, so they had little to worry about yet.   
Hayato had aged well over the ten years, he and the others – except Lambo- were all in their late twenties, but were fit enough to pass of as early-mid twenties. They had all matured, defined, and grown in boundless, indescribable ways. Reborn was proud, but Tsuna was prouder.  
Tsuna sat at the head of the room, back rested gently against the black leather and arms rested comfortably against the cherry wood desk that was etched with age and wear of bosses since passed. His friends sat in the various couches stationed in a circle around the room, and though it wasn’t anything as official as it looked, each of them sat in the same place every time they met within the walls of Tsuna’s office; whether that be for personal or professional business. It had been the same for the past ten years.  
Hayato sat to Tsuna’s right, always poised, but relaxed with one arm stretched behind him- along the couch’s back- and one arm in his lap nursing a cigarette or a glass of wine. Sharing the love seat with Takeshi- who would always sling his arms over the back and stretch his exceptionally long legs- would always spark an argument that usually ended with smirks and calm laughter from either the arguing pair, or the others stationed in the room.  
“When are we suppose to review the allies?” a warm smile was spread across Takeshi's face, because he had confidence born from Tsuna and no matter what happened he smiled and reassured everyone.  
Ryohei would always sit to Takeshi's right, sitting in one of two four seated couches in the room, loud and bright as always. Sitting in a lazy and relaxed position, using the room the couch boasted to almost sit spread eagle, he and Takeshi usually debated about sports and their personal choices in fighting technique, but always they were smiling, brightening and cleansing the mafia and personal stress from their friends.  
“I thought that wasn’t for EXTREME months!” Ryohei was lazily watching the Hitman with a practiced confidence in his words and action. No longer were any of Tsuna’s friends aggressive towards the Hitman, now he was part of their little family, and if someone threatened one of them (Even Reborn), everyone fought together to protect the one threatened.  
Reborn always sat front and center, directly opposite from Tsuna’s desk where Tsuna usually sat during meetings, he took up half of the couch, and Tsuna often wondered why neither Ryohei nor Kyouya ever complained; but Tsuna supposed that was the charm and power of the most dangerous Hitman in the world. The Hitman didn’t look to be in his late forties, he looked, in all honesty like he was in his early thirties. Then again, Tsuna was never sure of the Hitman’s true age, even after all this time.  
“The allies should be meeting up next month. Cavallone, Giglio Nero, and Shimon should be present to look over the current and future allies.” Reborn’s smirk was warm despite himself. He was getting soft, but it was ever so easy to do around his current company.  
Kyouya sat to Reborn’s right, taking great relief in being a distance from everyone, but still being accepted and able to feel a part of the conversations in the room, he was still cold and aloof even after the two years together, but he wouldn’t be Kyouya if he were not.  
“Herbivore, will I be able to fight that herbivorous-bronco this time?”   
Next to Kyouya were Mukuro and Chrome, sitting next to Kyouya and Lambo respectively. While Chrome was still shy and quiet, she had opened up pleasingly, openly laughing and smiling, and when courage was on a high she would even argue a point. Mukuro was still cold and cruel, but instead of baring his fangs at Tsuna’s guardians, trying to protect Tsuna from those who he still felt were not doing justice to pay back everything Tsuna had done for them, he bore them at enemies fighting against Tsuna to protect him, and by default the entire family. Tsuna couldn’t have been happier to have the ‘twins’ together but separate at the same time.  
“Kufufufufu, really Skylark, you should be more patient, you wouldn’t want your pointy sticks to be broken like last time.” Tsuna almost laughed outwardly when Kyouya reddened under the collar and twitched for his tonfu.  
“Mukuro... don’t tease Kyouya.”  
Lambo always sat to Tsuna’s left, usually kneeling on the couch and leaning over the arm to be closer to Tsuna. He was personally the closest to Tsuna by far, and when Tsuna had no business at his desk he sat next to Lambo on the couch, if only to keep strengthening the familial bonds that were once so private. Lambo still had his arrogant attitude, but it was softer now that he had spent a good ten years with more matured people. He had his slips when his teenage hormones ran rampant in his body, but seeing as he had grown up with it happening all around him he took it with a patient, eased grace. Not to mention that he had seven brothers and two sisters, not to mention a ‘uncle-father’ to see to it that he was soothed out of a hormonal-testosterone rage. Lambo was the most loyal and understanding of all of Tsuna’s guardians. Thought Tsuna supposed this was more due to the fact Lambo had been with Tsuna since he was born.  
“Tsuna-nii, I’m bored, when will Fuuta and I-pin get here?” Lambo had not only grown, but had become the mature, intelligent man that Tsuna could be proud of, but he was a teenage boy. He was kept mostly away from the grim Mafia, and he was under a deal with Tsuna that he, Fuuta and I-pin were to finish high-school before deciding to join the famiglia officially. That was happening next week, and Lambo was anxious for his brother and sister to be home for the ceremony.  
“Fuuta and I-pin don’t get here until this afternoon, just be patient.”  
Of course, where his guardians sat didn’t matter, what mattered to Tsuna was what happened when they sat. It never happened immediately, but after only a minute did the image began to glow with the love and trust shared between the men and women in the room, and it was truly breathtaking for Tsuna to witness. Breathtaking, when one considers that Tsuna’s ability to see and read the fate strings had increased exponentially over the uears, and would continue to do so as he aged and learnt.  
From each person one thick, long, bright fate string reached towards Tsuna and wrapped around his chest three times- and when he looked in the mirror didn’t he just look like a child’s attempt to colour a rainbow without lines- and the knotless orange string found its way all the way down each individual string, twisting and weaving itself into the individuals threads irreparably; Tsuna’s orange fate string wrapped itself around the owner’s chest five times before breaching from them and encircling the entire group. While that in itself was amazing, it was that happened in-between that amazed Tsuna the most.  
From each guardian fate strings reached out, visible and bright in the short distance, and dyed to visibility by the love, trust, and emotions diffused in the air of Tsuna’s office. While not everyone had a fate string attached to them from everyone else, there were a variety of thicknesses and brightness when a fate string was attached.  
First was the fact that a fate string connected the circle on the far outside, weaving and strengthening the metaphoric boundary Tsuna’s own string created, from Tsuna to Hayato; from Hayato to Takeshi; from Takeshi to Ryohei; from Ryohei to Reborn; from Reborn to Kyouya; from Kyouya to Mukuro and Chrome; and from Mukuro and Chrome to Lambo before finally reaching from Lambo to Tsuna so that a rainbow of colours in order formed a very lopsided rainbow; orange, red, blue, yellow, bright-orange-yellow-nameless, purple, indigo, and green. That is where the personal fates filled the rough circle made by the branches of strings and formed an image of love, trust and fate that Tsuna wished he could share with the world.  
Tsuna could see the connections within the strings, such as the thick line from Ryohei to Lambo, or from Lambo to Takeshi. He could see the thin line from Hayato to Mukuro and from Chrome to Kyouya and the heavy line from Takeshi to Kyouya. There was a somewhat strained line from Kyouya to Reborn, and Tsuna could only imagine that was Hibari’s personality bleeding into his fate. What was beautiful was that while Ryohei and Mukuro did not share a fate string, they shared a fate, simply because they were a part of his beautiful, shifting, evolving circle, and Tsuna just felt whole when he could watch the shifting lines.  
Of course, Tsuna wasn’t ignorant to the other strings, while none of them were as intimate and consequential as the colourful rainbow wrapping around the men and woman’s chests, there were a multitude of red strings branching out from each guardians’ arms and legs, and Tsuna was happy to note that each one of them had a red string or two wrapped around their wrists, signifying each of them had a fated partner somewhere in the world, and would one day have children. When Tsuna looked at the overall image of the red strings of normal fate, he couldn’t help but think it looked like a giant, old tree reaching for the heavens where he was the roots that kept them together; how pleasing an image it was.  
But one thing was far more beautiful, and that was Reborn’s fate string. While the others were more subtle about whose fate they affected, Reborn’s string dove to the center of the mass of fate lines, and then branched out suddenly, as if chasing every fate connection and enforcing it, but that was the beauty of Reborn’s fate line, it wasn’t a specific colour, and so it blended in with everyone; a chameleon in its own rite. While Reborn may not have been the one to get them together, he certainly had a hand in where they were today and the connections they had made.  
Tsuna often wondered if Reborn could actually see the fate strings as Tsuna did, and while Reborn never denied nor confirmed Tsuna’s subtle prompting, he knew Reborn must have some kind of sight-possibly like Kyouya’s ability, a feel rather than a sight-, because no matter how subtle or well hidden, Tsuna could see Reborn was manipulating their fates; not to make them happen so much as to strengthen what was already happening.  
“So, Tsuna,” Reborn started, as if prompted by Tsuna’s warm and trusting thoughts about him, a ‘speak of the devil moment’. “What do you think?”  
And Tsuna couldn’t be happier that Reborn was doing it, because Tsuna couldn’t always be there when a thread started to fray, but at least Reborn was there, and his guardians were there too to prevent fraying from starting, and they would never leave;  
“We are a famiglia, Reborn, as long as we fight together I can’t see anything defeating us.” Tsuna word’s leaked confidence and trust. Because he was surrounded by his family, he was surrounded by strings, and he had faith in the strings if not in their meanings.  
Because no matter how inevitable the red string snapping seemed, it would never break it would only ever fray.


End file.
